Back to work after 5 days ! Of Utlou and LS polls
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 27 2019 -

Back to work after five days.

This is true at least for the guys and girls working in the print media of Imphal.

Same old story and everything says that this trend will continue.

Not that the readers and the people in general missed much of the hot news, thanks to social media and so while the print media shut shop for full five days no one would have missed who have been named as the BJP and Congress candidates in the two Lok Sabha seats.

No one too would have missed the ugly incident that unfolded at Utlou.

This is the uniqueness of instant news via social media and with smart phones now in the possession of almost everyone, no one is likely to miss out on the happenings of the day, though the content that actually reached the viewers may be unfiltered and may contain the raw version of what may not have come out if the same had been carried in the newspapers.

So while the print media hibernated for full five days during the festival of colour, the BJP and the Congress went ahead and announced the names of the candidates in the Inner and Outer Parliamentary Constituencies.

And even as the Big Two announced the names of the candidates, came the new development of some former Congress MLAs resigning from the primary membership of the party.

All indications that the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will have an impact on the political development in the near future.

Many thoughts may be read into this, but one primary reason why the coming Lok Sabha election has elicited so much interest from the people is the presence of a strong Opposition in the Congress.

2019 is going to be very different from 2014, in so far as the Lok Sabha election in the Inner Parliamentary Constituency is concerned.

Five years back, it was the Congress all the way with 42 of its candidates romping home in the 2012 Assembly elections and then further increasing its strength by merging five MLAs from the then MSCP to take its tally to 47 in a House of 60.

Things have changed now. The BJP may be leading the coalition Government, but the Congress is still a force to reckon with here and it is this fact which the Congress leaders in Manipur would not want to be erased.

It is here that one can expect all the Congress MLAs, save for those who have joined hands with the BJP, to give their best shot to ensure that the Congress candidates emerge victorious.

The BJP too is not behind in resources and man power. Plus it has excellent back room boys who can tilt the balance in its favour and this is where the election will become so much more interesting.

And remember in the Outer there is the NPP which has fielded former Minister Thangminlien Kipgen, a well known political figure from Kangpokpi Assembly Constituency and the NPF which has fielded a fresh face.

In the Inner too, besides the Big Two, no one can write off the prospect of CPI candidate Dr M Nara.

All ingredients to make the coming Lok Sabha election more interesting.