In the realm of what could have been : Impact of 2002 win
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 10 2011 -

Tribute to (Late) MLA of Phungyar Assembly Constituency Wungnaoshang Keishing on 09 October 2011 :: Pix by Bullu Raj - Poknapham

Wungnaoshang Keishing was not a political heavyweight. His name may not come anywhere near the likes of the late Yangmasho Shaiza nor Rishang Keishing. Ukhrul district has definitely produced more colourful political figures than him and save for his surname, Keishing, he did not come from a political background like the sitting MLA of Ukhrul Assembly Constituency Danny Shaiza.

Phungyar Assembly Constituency will certainly not be synonymous with his name, for Rishang Keishing is too towering a personality to be edged out by a two term MLA. Yet there is something in Wungnao-shang Keishing that is hard to pin down, but which nevertheless has had a profound impact on the consciousness of the people.

There is something about the turn of events that defy logical explanation but which nonetheless leave an impact deep enough to define the present and the likely development in the future too and Wungnaoshang Keishing's two term as an MLA may be understood within this parameter.

Without taking away any credit from the late man, the significance of Wungnaoshang's foray into the world of electoral politics may best be seen in the realm of what could have been, and this is what adds to the mystique of the man.

The late man certainly created a ripple in the politics of Manipur when he unseated the then seemingly invincible Rishang Keishing in the 2002 Assembly election.

This itself was an achievement, for here was a story of a green horn, who did not come from a political family and had no Godfather, defeating a man who has had the distinction of being the longest serving Chief Minister of Manipur. The impact of Wungnaoshang Keishing's victory is something which today is being felt across the length and breadth of the State.

Back in 2002, the Congress was slowly inching back to the limelight after being in the wilderness since 1997, when Rishang Keishing was ousted from the seat of the Chief Minister by a group of Congress legislators led by W Nipamacha, Dr L Chandramani and Th Chaoba.

From 1998 till the early part of 2002, the Congress was like a child lost in the woods, groping from one pillar to another and it was only after the hustings to the 7th Assembly that it managed to claw its way back to the limelight.

If Wungnaoshang Keishing had not scripted his famous victory over Rishang Keishing on an MSCP ticket, then the political dynamics of the State may have seen a different trajectory and certain terms such as “10 percent” or “Zero So and So” may not have entered the political lexicon in Manipur.

In fact Thoubal Assembly Constituency may have remained just another Assembly Constituency and the Cycle may have held sway over Heirok Assembly Constituency.

This is the realm of what could have been but its significance cannot be written off at all in the present context of Manipur. And this is one reason why the late Wungnaoshang occupies such a critical position in the political development of the State.

To prove that the 2002 Assembly election victory was not just a fluke, Wungnaoshang Keishing got the better of Victor Keishing, son of the redoubtable Rishang Keishing in the 2007 Assembly election signalling the arrival of a seasoned politician.

Swimming with the tide, Wungnaoshang contested as one of the UNC backed independent candidates and was successful to a large extent in dismantling the hitherto held belief that Phungyar AC was the fiefdom of the elderly Rishang Keishing.

In as much as his exploits on the electoral field will be documented for years to come, Wungnaoshang Keishing will also be remembered for the surprises he managed to pull out from his sleeves towards the latter part of his life.

The call for the bifurcation of Ukhrul district and the formation of Phungyar district was something which came like a bolt from the blue and gradually the once blue eyed boy of Naga integration movement suddenly became the pariah of the very organisation which gave birth to the idea of Naga Nationalism-the NSCN (IM).

The ambush laid on his cavalcade on April 15, 2011 marked the turning point in the status of the late MLA in the eyes of the IM group of the NSCN.

Another surprise package that the late MLA whipped out from his political armoury was the public meeting held at Palace Compound on October 5 where a public announcement was made that the people of Phungyar AC would support him in any decision to pick the party of his choice ahead of the upcoming 10th Assembly election.

The MSCP, his parent party was the obvious choice, as it turned out.

It was this act which perhaps marked the final point of departure between the NSCN (IM) and the late man and the decree sounded by the Naga rebel group that the mortal remains of Wungnaoshang will not be allowed to be buried in his native place testifies how deep the differences ran.

In his electoral victories over Rishang Keishing and his son, Wungnaoshang Keishing created some sort of a history in the politics of Manipur and in earning the wrath of the NSCN (IM), which not only laid an ambush on his cavalcade but even went to the extent of dictating that his body would not be allowed to be buried in his native place, he has managed to create something unprecedented in his death.

This perhaps can be understood outside the realm of what could have been.