Not looking good for the Cong Govt : Prior to 2017 Assembly polls
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 5 2016 -

Nothing is looking good for the Congress Government here at the moment.

As if underlining the observation that the enemy within is more dangerous than the one outside, the immediate threat that is threatening the Congress Government has come from within.

And if nothing is looking good for the Congress Government, then be sure that not everything will look good for the Congress as a political party here.

This is the topsy turvy world of politics, where power is central to almost everything.

With at least 25 Congress MLAs raising their voice of dissent, the possibility of the State Government going the way of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand cannot be dismissed that easily.

This must be weighing heavily on the minds of the AICC leaders and this should explain the frequent trip to Delhi by Chief Minister O Ibobi and Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam in the last couple of days.

Difficult to say which way the wind will blow, but this does not say anything good for the party which is in power for the third consecutive term.

Something which the BJP must be observing with interest and not without reason.

With Assembly election scheduled in the early part of 2017, the BJP is sure to pounce on every opportunity that comes its way and surely a divided Congress or a Congress Government wherein at least 25 of its MLAs have raised the voice of dissent is something which will not miss the eyes of the BJP.

Trying to grab power from the Congress may be the first point that the BJP may be looking out for, but in the long run, it may even explore the possibility of delivering the knock out punch to the party as a whole here.

Only time will tell whether this is possible or not, but it should be more than clear that it is Congressmen who have ironically paved the way.

Not yet a downfall, but it is damning testimony that to many of the Congress MLAs, the health of the party is not of much importance, as long as they get the opportunity to dip their fingers in the pie !

How the Congress leadership manage to tide over the present crisis remains to be seen, but this certainly will not go down well with the people.

Can the Congress afford this when Assembly election is less than a year away ? Certainly not, and the ball is in the court of the 48 Congress MLAs in the State.

True the voice of dissidence has been raised over the failure of the Chief Minister to keep his word, the assurance that there would be a reshuffle midway through the present term, and while he may be questioned over the failure to stick to his words, why should everything depend on Ministerial berths ?

Remember before the size of the Ministry was restricted after Parliament passed a legislation, jumbo sized Ministry was the norm.

Party loyalty should be not be seen and understood only through the realm of being in the Council of Ministers.

There is so much one can do as an elected member of the House and one just has to look at some political leaders who have made a name for themselves by sitting on the Opposition bench for the greater part of their political career.