Background of 2002, 2007 polls 2012 : Post-poll talk
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 06, 2012 -

In a few hours from now the result of the election to the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly would have started trickling in and while generally elections in Manipur have never been known to be issue driven, there are still some points worth pondering over.

In 2002 Manipur went to the polls to elect the 8th Assembly while the embers of the June 18 Uprising of 2001 were still smouldering and it was not surprising to see many political observers ascribing the territorial integrity of Manipur as the issue that drove this election. However seeing this election only through this issue would be missing the wood for the trees.

If we remember correctly, all the political parties prominently featured the territorial integrity of Manipur in its election manifesto. All candidates spoke about protecting the territorial sanctity of the State and in fact this was not something new, especially after AMUCO organised the first and by far the most impressive public rally on August 4, 1997 to sensitise the people on the looming threat to the integrity of Manipur.

In fact there was nothing to choose between the political parties and their candidates on this issue, but the fact that the Congress emerged the single largest party after the election was a clear reflection of how the endless round of musical chairs played by the political leaders of those days had left the people disillusioned.

No one will forget how horse trading and the chameleon like characteristics exhibited by the political leaders of those days transformed the Assembly to a one man Opposition, with the redoubtable Rishang Keishing taking on the rest of the MLAs as the lone ranger.

Another pathetic chapter was added to the history of post Statehood Manipur though it went a long way in bolstering the image of the veteran Rishang and fittingly too.

No one will also forget the shifting of allegiance, the political back stabbing, in fact the manner in which power politics was reduced to a circus and this was when Delhi stepped in, suspended the Assembly and then quietly and adroitly announced the ‘ceasefire without geographical limitation’ Bangkok Declaration on June 14, 2001.

What followed will be recorded in posterity and it was against this backdrop that Manipur went to polls in the early part of 2002 and expelled the MSCP and some political leaders to the political wilderness for years.

We are not saying that these were the issues that decided the 2002 election, but the chicanery of the politicians did have an impact and in the absence of any ‘colourful background’ in the run up to the 2007 election it may be seen as the people voting for continuity, despite the ineptness with which the SPF Government handled the first marathonesque 52 days economic blockade in 2005.

This is a rough sketch of the background against which the State went to polls in 2002 and 2007 and while the public do not seem to have learnt any worthwhile lessons from the recent past, if the recently held election to the 10th Assembly is any indication, this should not be any reason to assume that since the people have cast their vote they have had their final say.

Far from it, it is incumbent on each and every citizen of the land to note that their duties as responsible citizens of the people do not begin and end with casting their vote. This is where the concept of the Home Assembly mooted by the Association of Premier State College Seniors gains importance.

Roughly put, the concept of the Home Assembly moots people's participation in governance. The very term people's representatives connotes the idea that the elected leaders echo the wishes and aspirations of the people on the floor of the Assembly.

To live up to this understanding then it is important that the elected leaders interact with the people they represent on issues which are of public interest and then after gathering their views and opinions, present them on the floor of the Assembly. This would make democracy more meaningful. The votes have been cast.

The result will be out in a couple of hours, but it is incumbent on the part of the public to ensure that governance is not side tracked. Issues need not only be relevant only in the pre-poll days. It should also be relevant to the period known as post-poll.

If the endless games of musical chairs played by the political leaders dictated people's choice in 2002, if 2007 was about continuity then let's make governance and accountability the driving forces in 2012.