Mabo peisa kyam pairadana vote lepke hairino : The great election bazar
- Sangai Express Editorial :: March 13, 2014 -

“If the Congress party (or any other party) has offered you money, take it but reserve your vote for me.”

This was Kim Gangte, the Trinamool Congress candidate in the Outer Parliamentary Constituency, at her most witty yet sarcastic while addressing some media persons at Churachandpur on March 11.

Witty and sarcastic and in one sweeping statement, Kim Gangte has about summed up the manner in which elections in Manipur have been turned into a bazar, a fish market where the buyers and sellers bargain or haggle over the price of the goods !

A situation clearly reflected in the most often asked question whenever anyone announces his or her decision to contest the election-Mabo peisa kyam pairadana vote lepkani hairishe (How much money does he or she have or how rich is he or she to contest the election) ?

Buying power, not with ideas, merit, integrity and performance, but money and more money and as rightly said, the people of Manipur have been getting the type of Government they deserve down the decades.

Pathetic power and water supply, pathetic road conditions, corruption in every sphere of life, Government jobs with huge price tags, the growing unholy nexus between the political leaders, the babus and the contractors, absolute absence of accountability and responsibility.

You name it and Manipur is there right on top when it comes to non-governance and institutional collapse.

Election is not only about voting for a candidate of one’s choice, but should also be about voting out something which have been detrimental to the interest of the public and sipping their blood all these years.

The disturbing point however is, no one seems ready to learn a lesson from the past. Election is not a bazar, not a commercial activity.

Votes should be bought with ideas, ideology of the political organisation, integrity of the candidate in question, performance and the ability to deliver.

However here in Manipur it is the reverse. Candidates do not sell their ideas and present their performance in the past, but buy votes with money and the most annoying part is, there are no dearth of sellers, read people who are ready to sell their votes to the highest bidder.

In a few days time, Manipur will join the rest of the Nation in electing and sending its representatives to the Lok Sabha.

What are the issues that have cropped up so far ? Nothing much to write home about on this front and this is a shame.

A shame that no political organisation or candidate has been able to whip up an issue and catch the imagination of the public.

Doubly shameful that the public too care two hoots about issues but are more concerned with personal equations and what they can extract from the candidates during election time.

In such a scenario should the people have any right to expect anything substantial from the candidates once they are elected ?

It is not a one way traffic but cuts both ways.

Political parties and candidates coming out with outlandish promises and non-sensical ideas and the public not paying any attention to the issues which plague them but are ready to back the person who can dole out the highest amount of money.

It is a vicious cycle or circle. It is on record that a number of civil society organisations have joined hands, discussed the issues concerning the people and have drafted 29 points for the political parties to include in their election manifesto.

This is a good beginning no doubt, but will this translate into votes, is the big question.

At the risk of seeing the glass half empty, it is extremely difficult to write off the feeling that in the end the 29 points may not be the deciding factor, but money and of course muscle power.

No wonder, Manipur has seen a dime a dozen politicians and political leaders, but no statesman as yet.