Contest between Delhi and Imphal : More than a by election
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 22, 2014 -

A by election, but important for different reasons to the ruling State Congress and the State unit of the BJP here.

Again different reasons why the by election to the Hiyanglam Assembly Constituency scheduled on October 17 has generated so much interest amongst the people.

To the Congress and its loyalists the outcome of the by election will not have much of an impact here for arithmetically speaking the Congress is well placed, having won 42 of the 60 Assembly segments in the 2012 election, but to the State unit of the BJP it will mean much more.

Not only will the outcome of the by election be seen as the BJP managing to send an MLA to the State Assembly or failing once again, but in many ways it will also be seen as some sort of a referendum on Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of the country.

Not that the by election would have an impact on the Government at Delhi, but in many ways it can be a reflection of where the State unit of the BJP stands in the eyes of the voters.

The Delhi impact is not something which can be easily written off and the past should bear testimony to this.

This is where the role of the State unit of the BJP and its present functionaries under the leadership of Th Chaoba will gain prominence.

Perhaps a pointer to where the State BJP will stand when Assembly election comes calling in 2017.

This is not to downplay the prospects of other political parties and their candidates, but it is more than evident that to many the by election will be seen as something between the State unit of the Congress and the BJP. One in power at Delhi and the other in power at Imphal.

Premature it would be to say which direction the wind is likely to blow, but there are reasons why the by election has caught the attention of so many people and not just the keen political observer.

That the BJP has not done well at all in the by elections held at Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat is interesting for it has come barely four months after it swept the Lok Sabha election.

The figure should tell the story. Of the 24 seats it held before the by elections, the BJP lost 13 seats to the others, notably the Congress.

This however should not be taken to mean that these elections had anything to do with the performance of the BJP Government at the Centre.

It had more to do with local issues, which should ideally be tackled by the respective State Governments.

Nothing to suggest that the upcoming by election to Hiyanglam Assembly Constituency would be anything different.

How the State unit of the BJP manage to sell its ideas to the voters, give a native interpretation to the Prime Minister’s ‘Acche Din’ slogan and neutralise the sway of the Congress will certainly go a long way in winning the trust of the people.

The all important question however is whether the State unit of the BJP has anyone who can sway the imagination of the people.

It also remains to be seen how the State unit of the Congress come up with policies and programmes to win over the people. The performance of the other political parties will also be certainly interesting.

The possibility that they may eat into the vote banks of either of the two major political parties or come out winners has only added to the interest.