Journey from 1952 to 2014 : More than a politician, a leader
- Sangai Express Editorial :: January 28, 2014 -
Rishang Keishing
Like many others of his ilk, he is a politician. Unlike many of the others he is a political leader a leader who stands heads and shoulders above his peers as well as the younger generations who have come after him.
This is Rishang Keishing, the man synonymous with Phungyar Assembly Constituency and along with the late Yangmasho Shaiza managed to put Ukhrul district on the political map of Manipur.
There are former Chief Ministers and there will be former Chief Ministers in the years to come but it is unlikely that they would be able to command the respect of a former Chief Minister as Rishang Keishing.
With the All India Congress Committee, picking up Abdul Salam as its Rajya Sabha nominee from Manipur, the role of Rishang Keishing as an active politician may have come to an end, but this is besides the point. At 94, Rishang Keishing has done his part and more. It has been a remarkable journey for the man from Phungyar AC.
Elected to the first Parliament from Outer Manipur Assembly Constituency in 1952, he went on to achieve this feat again in the third Parliament in 1962.
From 1952 to 2014 is indeed a long journey and in between Rishang went on to become the longest serving Chief Minister of Manipur, from 1980 to 1988 with some interruptions in between and then again from 1994 to 1997, until this record was eclipsed by the present Chief Minister O Ibobi who is well on his way to complete 15 years in the chair of Chief Minister.
The political history of Manipur would have definitely taken a different course, if he had not tasted defeat at the hand of his one time protege, the late Wungnaoshang Keishing in the 2002 election.
Other than wearing the crown of Chief Minister of Manipur, Rishang donned many a mantle, the latest being the Rajya Sabha MP for two consecutive terms.
A dispassionate and objective analysis of his contribution to Manipur as a political leader may not be possible, for there are bound to be subjective elements which will creep in whenever someone traces the political journey of a man from as early as 1952 to 2014.
Wearing hats at different times, according to the situation, Rishang Keishing was the cynosure of everyone, especially the media, when he was the lone Opposition member during the stint of Radhabinod Koijam as the Chief Minister in the early part of 2001.
It was during this period that his character came to the fore by distancing himself from the horse trading that Manipur witnessed and how governance was reduced to a game of musical chairs played by the elected members of the House back in 2001.
There will be detractors for sure, for Rishang was also known as much as for his capability to take the flock along with him as well for nearly perfecting the art of political intrigues and horse trading.
To be sure he will not be remembered for his oratorial skills but there was a manner in which he could connect with the people and the officials serving in his Government.
To many retired Government officials, Rishang is Oja Rishang. Says something very significant. Period.
In retrospect, the one great opportunity that Rishang failed to capitalise on during his long and chequered political career was his seeming failure to extend his influence and clout beyond the boundary of Manipur.
For all his political acumen, he was not a vote catcher for the Congress in other parts of the North East States.
The answer to the question why he was never offered the post of Governor, may lie in this.
A story different from his Nagaland counter part, SC Jamir, who has been again made the Governor of Odisha, after Goa and Maharastra.
Whatever the case, it will be hard for other former Chief Ministers to command the respect that Rishang has as a former Chief Minister of the State and this is not an easy feat.
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