10th Assembly Election - Litmus Test for All

K Shiva *

A new year, a new resolution, a recap of what had left behind – a bitter memory of events is something that's going to cast its legitimate shadows in this upcoming and much-hyped and much-restricted election ever before in the history of Manipur, marred by allegations and counter-allegations, restrictions, and covert use of all means at hand to outsmart the warring feuds. One salient features unlike before has been the curtailment of campaigning coupled with ceiling limits fixed by ECI regarding expenses to be borne by parties and individuals for propaganda plus restriction on paid news items. With many political parties that were hitherto insignificant or unknown comes into fray to woo the public, to take maximum mileages out of the anti-incumbency factor and vacuum created by what is being alleged and charged as corrupt, arrogant, and anti-public rule of "crore-gress" babus. Some worth-mentioning amongst them were Trinamool Congress, NCP, NNP, BSP, etc.

Trinamool congress, with its huge success in Bengal, is looking for that wind of change to blow here too and in fact it had already succeeded in one of the by-election. Will it be able to bring the charisma of Mamata Banerjee in fore to woo the voters with new promises to keep and intrinsic changes and growth is the matter only time will tell, but it won't to be too much an exaggeration to opine general masses are tired of false promises and half-hearted assurances made by parties in the past and present too.

BJP is another national party using every available resource at disposal to bounce back to power with its vision 2025 and promises to bring forth a difference. MPP is another regional party flanked by seasoned politicians, planning to win sizable seats this time to hold their foot to bring forth the changes to what is being alleged as chaos and turmoil faced by people in the last 10 years. Will a regional party like MPP can come to power like Trinamol Congress in Bengal, AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, BSP in UP and make a difference is also a big mystery left to be unfolded?

In more than one way and in true essence of democratic ideals, the upcoming mandate is also going to be reckoned as the real voice of the masses, their wills, or in other words referendum to which side of the fence they really sat, not just an election like before where opinions and views were shaped by undemocratic means. And interestingly, the number of voters turnout will also marked the dawn of new era where the notion will be strengthened once again that democracy is what is going to be prevailed here and that voice of the majority is the real voice of the people, where their future lies and what they believe in true spirit and soul and not otherwise.

In other side of the story, some political think tanks had opined that this time the mandate is going to be something very unpredictable and most complex task to foretell, underlying its going to be a government of coalitions and that no single party is going to win absolute majority. And moreover, diversion of votes wantedly from potential winners from opposition with their in-fightings would be another factor to see surprises too, giving added advantages to the rival popular party at this juncture. How far these fortune telling and allegations are true is a matter only time will tell, but one this is for sure that the popular song no., "Wind of Change" is going to popular amongst the folks long after mandate is over, no matter which party comes to power. All in all, this election is going to be a litmus test for both political parties and general masses what they really feel, to express their minds through votes, their wants and needs, their repentances, and what future they would like to hold.