Poll verdict questions NPF agenda
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 21 , 2014 -

NPF Logo

"Congress has not defeated us, Nagas have defeated us", stated outgoing Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on the loss of NPF candidate Soso Lorho to the Congress rival by a margin considerably close.

Neiphiu Rio's comment may or may not be correct but one thing is very clear, the number of votes secured by the NPF candidate was disappointingly below what he had expected.

Neiphiu Rio's statement implied that a major chunk of Naga votes which otherwise would have been pocketed by Soso Lorho were divided between the other two Naga candidates.

If one goes by the same logic, one can safely assert Prof Gangmumei Kamei or for that matter Mani Charenamei was defeated by neither Congress nor NPF but Nagas.

By blaming only the Naga candidates, Neiphiu Rio exposed his dubious political ideology to full public view.

We say NPF's political ideology is dubious because it has an inherent weakness of expecting voters to vote on communal lines.

Unfortunately, to a sizable section of (Naga) voters, this dented ideology was found unpalatable.

It is surprising that NPF believed only their candidate must fight the Lok Sabha election and no other Nagas should particularly in Outer Manipur P/C.

This goes against the very essence and spirit of democracy.

There might have been a dozen Naga candidates, still the NPF candidate would have won had NPF and civil organisations which backed the party enjoyed's Naga people mandate.

Had NPF leaders could read correctly the message given by the last two Assembly elections of Manipur, it would have restrained itself from making such politically immature statements and avoided the unnecessary but embarrassing flaks it evoked.

The last two Assembly elections had shown with no ambiguity that the NPF's agenda is not in sync with the aspirations of the Naga people of Manipur.

Perhaps, Soso Lorho would have won the election had NPF's agenda been something else.

But his loss, in spite of all the resources invested by NPF coupled with all sorts of arm-twisting tactics employed by NSCN-IM, proved that there is a disconnect between NPF's agenda and the Naga people of Manipur.

NSCN-IM's involvement in the parliamentary election is becoming clearer and clearer with the disclosures made by Prof Gangmumei Kamei and former Minister Dr Khasim Ruivah.

Yes, Congress did not defeat NPF agenda, Nagas defeated NPF agenda.

This was what Prof Gangmumei Kamei conveyed implicitly when he said, "...he (Neiphiu Rio) should blame his mentor in the underground set up for his failure to capture votes for his party."

It is an open secret that maximum number of candidates and political parties indulged in all kinds of electoral malpractices when they got the slightest opportunity and if they had the power and capacity.

By virtue of being the ruling party with as many as 47 MLAs in their kitty, it was Congress in Inner Manipur constituency which had the maximum capacity to indulge in all sorts of electoral malpractices.

This was reflected in the score of complaints lodged by rival parties. Such complaints were not lesser in Outer seat.

The only difference is, the complaints were directed against NPF and armed cadres of NSCN-IM as well as Congress.

Abduction and detention of well known political figures like Khasim Ruivah and PA Thekho have now been confirmed by the victims themselves.

Indeed, it is a paradox that the NPF could not win the Outer seat in spite of enjoying massive support of NSCN-IM and extensive arm-twisting tactics employed by its armed cadres.

All the defeated candidates of both Outer and Inner seats with the exception of the NPF candidate can take solace that they were defeated by unfair means much higher in degree than they themselves employed.

As for the NPF candidate, it was the party's agenda which failed him as reflected most glaringly in the results of the last two State Assembly elections.