Maharaj & election candidates
Free Thinker *
Maharaj : Bizandoo , do you believe that we will be winning both the seats ?
Bizandoo : Eigya , frankly speaking we have a very good chance of winning both the seats; the ruling party always wins ; there might be one or two exceptions in the
past; as per record the exceptions were more in the hills.
Maharaj : I am surprised , why such exceptions could happen ?
Bizandoo : Hujur, the ruling party could not win in parliamentary elections largely because of infighting within the party or within the alliance ; for the hills the defeats
were more or less linked with the ethnic issues and equation with the local leaders.
Maharaj : what is your honest assessment this time around ?
Bizandoo : Eigya , first of all, it depends on the choice of the candidate ; sometimes man-power, money- power and muscle- power fails if the candidate is hopelessly weak
and having a notorious public image ; if our candidates are well known figures with good credentials we have cent percent chance of winning both the seats.
Maharaj : That is the problem, we have too many aspirants, only two will get the ticket (two seats); the final word comes from Dili ; we are just sending the names with their
resume ; of course that went via Pragjyotishpura , the proud capital city of the Ahoms; we handed over the list to the respected emissary.
Bizandoo : Hujur, only one will get the ticket in each constituency; we must be in a position to appease all the remaining aspirants , otherwise they may play hazardous
roles during the elections; they must be properly convinced that Party is more important; if possible all of them must be given prominent responsibilities so to instill the feeling that they are equally important for the Party.
Maharaj : Yes , Yes that is important. what sould be the election agenda this time? what are the expectations of the people? What do they think of us ?
Bizandoo : Eigya , honestly speaking there is no election agenda as such for our land; here in this part of the sub-continent agenda or issues normally don't work ; there
are certain things which really work during election or just before the polling begins; you know it better Sire .
Maharaj : But, we require issues to be raised during the election campaigns; at least something has to be uttered for the confusion of the people ; we should sound confident and convincing .
Bizandoo : Eigya everybody knows you are confident and capable; what is the worry ? You have the blessings of the duo at Dili; and you have the blessings of Ramji.
Bizandoo : Maharaj, I am not comfortable with the nomenclature of our parliamentary constituencies; namely – Outer Manipur Parliamentary constituency and Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency; in the next delimitation we must change these names; otherwise it sounds like the 'outer' is actually outside Manipur and "inner' inside Manipur ; may be psychological.
Maharaj : You have a very valid point, voters of outer Manipur might develop a feeling that they are outside Manipur; that might be the reason why we are facing teritorial problems ; if I am around at the time of next delimitation I will definitely raise this issue with the Commission ; and try to give a more appropriate names for our constituencies .
Bizandoo : Eigya , I have a suggestion , for the Outer Constituency we can simply call it – Manipur hills Constituency and for Inner Constituency we may call it simply. – Manipur Valley Constituency. And if we get one more constituency in the valley, we may name it suitably.
Maharaj : Good idea ; whether delimitation is done on the basis of population?
Bizandoo : Eigya , you are right, delimitation is done on the basis of population ratio as per Art 81; but the process of delimitation is frozen for 25 years for both Parliamentary and Assembly seats till 2026 by the Constitution 91st Amendment of 2001.
Maharaj : Bizandoo ,Ticket lists will start coming out , one after another, I have a feeling that in search of winnable candidates if Dili announces my name ! That would be amazing for many !
Bizandoo : Eigya, whatever Dili does, is for the good of the land and the people; just see, they have withdrawn the Citizenship Bill; we have nothing to worry ; we must welcome the Dili decision;
number of persons joining us is more than the number leaving us; big leaders, small leaders, leaders without followers, all must be embraced.
Maharaj : I have a gut feeling , we will win in both, even if unusual candidates are thrust upon us.
Bizandoo : Sire ! Dili will decide whether it will be Police vs Police, Veteran vs Veteran, Axe vs Axe , Bureaucrat vs Bureaucrat ; names are arriving shortly . It may be stunning !!!!
* Free Thinker wrote this article for The Sangai Express
This article was webcasted on March 24 2019.
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