High in rhetoric low on substance : Not much to choose from
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: Ocotber 16, 2014 -
High in rhetoric, low on substance.
Unfortunate it is but once again more than 24 thousand voters will have to sift through all the heavy promises and tall statements to choose one from among the five candidates in the fray for the by election to the Hiyanglam Assembly Constituency on October 17.
Sounds more like a case of the candidates and the political parties too lethargic or bereft of ideas to sit down and study what the people actually need at Hiyanglam.
No debates on issues besieging the State and the people and not even canvassing along the line of what the people actually need.
Charges and counter charges, name calling, promising the heaven and even assuring to take up steps which sounded more like fairy tales.
These and more made up the canvassing and campaigning for the by election, which became more and more like a big jamboree with each passing day.
Crucial it is for different reasons to different political parties, but the manner in which candidates and the political parties campaigned had nothing to reflect how crucial it is to the State or even the particular Assembly Constituency.
More than indicative that the mindset of the political leaders continues to be stuck in a time warp.
Running down the others and taking pot shots at the rivals may be a given in all elections, but there certainly was no need to go about it so crudely.
Not that the voters will be swayed by all the big talks but in many ways it also showed how the intelligence of the voters has been taken for granted.
The hollow promises bereft of any practicability and the manner in which rivals were verbally crucified should testify this.
Not surprisingly it was the Congress and the BJP which seemed to dominate the electioneering and not without reasons.
With the BJP delivering a whacking blow on the Congress at the Lok Sabha election earlier this year and Prime Minister Narendra Modi making all the right noises, the State unit of the BJP too is kicking with life.
Moreover it has got the son of the former MLA of the Constituency whose demise necessitated the by election to contest on its ticket.
The BJP candidate and the State unit of the party may just be banking on the feel good factor generated by the Prime Minister and the sympathy votes that are most likely to come in the face of the former MLA passing away.
On the other hand, the State unit of the Congress seems to have put away the drubbing the party received at the Lok Sabha hustings and seems more than satisfied to bank on the fact that it is ruling the State for the third consecutive term.
A fact which can be surmised by the manner in which the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister have been campaigning for the by poll.
This is not to say that the other parties have been quiet. Already two leaders of the Trinamul Congress have come and reached out to the voters.
The MPP and MSCP too have been making all the noises to show that the time is right. However the central point to remember is that in casting their votes, the voters will not be only sealing the fate of the candidates but also their fate, at least for the rest of the term.
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