How to win an election in Manipur

Ranjan Yumnam / Rojendrakar Nongthomba *

Voters at the by-election at Wangoi Constituency, Manipur in November 2020 :: Pix - Lamdamba Oinam

Neither of us is Prashant Kishor. We don't know what kind of secrets Kishor is privy to; which may be a case of someone having just enough luck or possessing a supernatural understanding of how elections work in India. He correctly predicted results of elections held in many States - Gujarat, Delhi, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, West Bengal...we are still counting.

We would like to propose our own idea of winnability of a person in the elections in Manipur. We won't attempt to know all. We would use historical data, conjectures and pure surmises to drive home our point. It all boils down to some empirical factors: one's place of origin from which a person contests the elections is important.

One oversized factor that plays a significant role in the journey of a person's bid to win an election is the urban-rural divide. We say this because expectations of people in an urban and rural settings differ so widely, so are cultures and lifestyles of the voters.

Whereas in an urban area, electricity may be taken for granted, however, it is something of a luxury in a rural landscape. So an aspiring MLA has to fine-tune his/her strategies to fulfil the wishes of the people particular to the place he is contesting from.

Yes, in our analysis, we don't discount the most hyped twin factors of muscle and pelf; they may play significant roles in the winning of the election by the candidates. However, these are not the only game changers.

It has been seen in elections that many of the candidates who have these in abundance have to kiss the dust at the hustings. Throwing tons of black lucre mindlessly will only bring rewards so much as his shrewd management of the resources.

Considering that elections are conducted and supervised under the most watchful eyes of the democratic legal institutions, one cannot just count on hijacking the election process left and right without consequence.

The following are the substantive parts of this write-up.

1. He/She should be empathetic. This is a capital letter EMPATHETIC. An aspiring candidate should be genuinely interested in the welfare of the people he seeks to represent. Anything other than this, people will see through the ruse.

The person should be able appreciate and live different roles - that of a leader who understands what a housewife, a father, a mother, a student, a businessman, a Government employee, a farmer, a teacher, an artist, etc. thinks and dreams about. He/She should be able to feel the unique struggles each of them endures to cut a life in those roles. Take for instance the trials and tribulation of student in the run up to examination.

His/Her mind is full of anxieties and tensions. What about organizing a counseling session for them to defuse their worries. Again, during the harvest season, farmers may require assistance - and enough monsoon - to increase the output of their heavily invested efforts, emotionally and physically.

If the much-needed help can be made available through the Government schemes, then an aspiring MLA may do well to arrange these benefits for the farmers as they will be at a loss if they were left to do it themselves.

Services should be made available at doorstep at subsidized costs or free of cost that won't break the back of the people. Health camps and other citizen centric facilities may be organised frequently. These are only illustrative and candidates have to thrash their own mind to gauge specific problems of the people and find solutions for them. Suffice it to say that, not all people in the villages have a clue about Govt schemes and have the means and will to approach Government authorities.

2. Becoming an MLA is a leap of faith. Forget about lazing off with a pulp novel in the Sunday morning. A lazy person can never succeed in anything leave alone election. He/She should have a clear vision of what He/She will do after or before winning election. Action always speaks volumes than glib speech. He/She needs to be an activist first and foremost and should plan his own praxis (theory plus action).

3. He/She should not be shy. Throw all inhibitions to the winds and dial up the extrovert quotient. Show no shame in fighting for the people. He/She should be a frontline warrior. You know what we mean, cheesy or otherwise. My fellow collaborator of this article wants to add these lines too "They should be ready to face any eventuality. He/She should be fearless but not foolhardy. This differentiation should be understood clearly" .

4. In local electoral politics, He/She should steer clear of any enmity that will defeat his winning chances by needlessly alienating any group of candidates or workers. Election is a Zero Sum game. Alienate one person, you lose one valuable vote. Either He/She should treat detractors equally or keep equidistance from them.

5. Shrewdness with political acumen and wisdom. He/She should be able to build his own political narratives for himself/herself or for the party to which he belongs. Reinvent, rebrand - do anything that can set you apart from the non-serious candidates.

6. He/She should be confident regardless of his/her educational qualifications. In fact, high educational qualification has not proved to be a necessity but if one holds a degree in a subject, we believe that that might boost his morale at some mental level. He/She should exemplify in words and deeds and show respect for traditional etiquettes and decency in dealing with persons of different age groups.

He/She should keep his emotions in check. Outbursts of any kind will be an anathema. More than anything else, holding firm conviction and following it with integrity will be a highly prized attribute of an aspiring MLA any day.

7. He/She cannot afford to be complacent. Once elected, He/She should not be too conceited that will erect a wall around him. Rather He/She should work with renewed vigor because an MLA is only as good as the last election he faced.

8. As mentioned earlier He/She should be familiar with the demography and socio-economic profile of his/her Constituency and should be able to count on those facts from the back of his/her hand. He/She will do well to understand the unique locational advantages and disadvantages of his/her Constituency. This we say, because developmental priorities are shaped more often by the realities of geography.

9. Elections are supposedly fought on level playing fields and State institutional machineries do their best to ensure free and fair elections. However, one should remember that there are vested forces inimical to the democratic processes which will try to sabotage the normal electoral process. Therefore, one should raise one's guard against such forces to counter them whenever they raise their ugly heads.

10. He/She should seek out the most influential community leaders and try to garner their support. He/She should cast a wide net and cultivate different groups of supporters and workers - by age, educational level, income, political beliefs etc. His/her overt and most trusted ground lieutenants should represent and manifest his qualities.

Those who work selflessly should be rewarded but implicitly, lest it should arouse envy and heartburning. Those who do not share his political beliefs should not be beaten with sticks but given carrots befitting their contribution.

The idea is to minimize the number of detractors and cut them to size. You may also want to groom some discrete fellows to work behind scenes and increase your eyes and ears. They should remain neutral observers while giving you useful intel on your adversaries' weakness and strengths.

11. Fighting election in hills may be a different ballgame altogether. Not only are there topographical difficulties, non-State actors could call the shots, figuratively and literally. A deep pocket may not hurt with some extra muscles.

12. Once elected, He/She should not focus on personal aggrandizement for wealth. Fighting election is all about sacrificing one's wealth, and removing oneself from the cares of near and dear ones.

13. His/Her action should be visible. PR tactics should be used profusely so that no words and deeds escape fulsome coverage in the media. For which He/She needs to think out of box to gain publicity at any cost.

14. In lighter note, it may be emphasized that the roles of spouse are important. Relatives should not be allowed to spoil the chances of winning election. Blood relatives are mirror images of candidates and they should not lend themselves to criticism from the public over nepotism - imagined or not. If spouse is pretty and convivial, he/she is an added advantage.

Rural-urban dichotomy

In urban scenarios, the spatial area is small and the density of population is high. People are more educated so the campaigning narratives will be little different from those fighting in a rural setting.

Ultimately, candidates have to tailor their campaign strategies to suit the different needs of the people in urban and rural ACs. In urban areas, pressing problems may be that the drains do not function and are clogged, waves of seasonal floods and solid wastes littering all around.

The urban local Governments may be providing municipal services to the citizens however such services may not be adequate or too little too late. Therefore, prospective candidates have to seriously look out for urban specific schemes to improve the quality of life of city dwellers. He may join hands with civil society organizations to benefit the urban locales.

In the same manner urban solutions cannot be foisted upon rural problems. Rural problems have their own character; you need to attack those accordingly. We urge the candidates to analyze the features and traits that characterize an urban community as well as the rural one.

Collective consciousness and tapping mass media

Collective consciousness of the public is less intelligent and short term than the individual consciousness. Apart from the common needs of the people like cleaning drains and helping the distressed during natural calamities or pandemic, candidates should carve a special niche in the public memory which is manageable and favorable.

They should innovate and do something that other candidates haven't, say sponsoring tuition fees of children of unemployed parents. Media should be deployed in creating a positive image for the candidate. Create a special media wing to handle media. Harness the social media like a pro.

Seemingly far fetched idea or promises should look tangible and deliverable in the near future by manufacturing narratives spun in the cleverest manner. Our observations and analyses may not be all encompassing and universal. However, one can refer to the above ideas as they may contain some useful tips. Fighting election is both an art and science.

And strategies have to be chalked out accordingly. At the end of the day, it is the EVM which is the Kingmaker.

Also, we have not written this article with a malice towards anyone. If there is anything objectionable, it is due to our naivety in not possessing the experience of an MLA.