Poll victory of Congress
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: March 7, 2012 -

Supporters celebrating the success of their candidate in the election to 10th State Assembly - Pix :: Hueiyen Lanpao

Satyajit Usham from the desk

More than anyone else, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh himself may have been taken completely by surprise at the stupendous success of his Congress party in the elections to the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly, the results of which were announced today.

The odds staking against the party in the run up to the elections was so high that Ibobi himself had expressed apprehension over the prospects of his party MLAs getting re-elected from some Assembly constituencies.

Apart from threats from seven UG groups, Congress had to put up a tough fight this time as non-Congress parties came together to stop it from returning to power.

Neutralizing all these UG threats and the hype of the Opposition alliance, Ibobi has led his party to a historic third term victory garnering 42 seats in the 60-member Assembly.

The performance of the Congress party this time is even better than the last Assembly elections in 2007 where it could get only 30 seats.

The importance of the Assembly elections, 2012 is such that it has been dubbed as the semi-final for UPA and NDA before the 2014 General elections.

Interestingly, of the five Indian states, namely Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa, where the electoral exercise was conducted spanning over a period of one-month, it is only in Manipur where Congress has consolidated its position.

The performance of the party in the remaining states is devastating, to say the least. In Uttar Pradesh, Congress failed miserably with public giving a firm mandate to Samajwadi Party. The election in Punjab has been swept by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance.

In Goa, Congress has been unseated by BJP. Similarly, in Uttarakhand, BJP emerged as a formidable force to reckon with for the Congress.

So, is there any compelling reason for the people of Manipur to give a thumping victory to the Congress?

If the rule of the Congress party over the last two terms in Manipur is as corrupted and mismanaged as many adversaries have pointed out, then why is the people voting it to power for the third consecutive term?

The answer is simple: In the absence of a strong alternative, people have no choice and the dividing line between the Ruling and the Opposition in Manipur is so blur that it is difficult to differentiate one from the other.

More significantly, the success of Congress party has come as a direct indictment of the 'forces' that live under the impression that bomb and bullet are mightier than ballot.