Some random thoughts in connection with the fast approaching 2017 general election

Khelsoril Wanbe *

The countdown for the 2017 Election has virtually begun! Different major, minor, national and regional political parties are hectically gearing up for the gala quinquennial democratic showdown. All resources are being garnered and harnessed to achieve optimal success.

The electorates/people are said to be the main origin of power; the moot point, however, is how to choose the best from the many options – how to identify the candidate/s that will sincerely and honestly strive to bring about true social welfare and development to this trouble-torn tiny state in the remote corner of north-east India?

It is quite indisputable that the state is still embroiled in a number of seemingly insurmountable social, economic and political problems like corruption, unemployment, infrastructural underdevelopment, clash of interests among different sections of the society etc.

Undeniably, some positive changes and developments have taken place in the past decade or so, yet many other problems and issues remain that call for wise, mature, sincere handling and tackling to bring about lasting solutions and long-term developments. It needs to be borne in mind that before the elections, the onus for selecting/electing and sending reps to the Assembly lies with the mighty electorate.

Once the elections are done, the remaining five years will virtually belong to the hands and wisdom of the elected reps; now is the time to make our wise choice; this is the time to do proper research into the history and lives of our candidates.

This is an indispensable democratic exercise as it is going to decide who will be behind the steering wheels of power for the whole five years that will be rolling smoothly or roughly right before our very eyes for which we will have little or no control of everything that will happen. Elections are actually supposed to be pure democratic exercise synonymous with peaceful continuance or transition of power.

As a matter of fact, election exercise is supposed to be as peaceful and simple as casting votes into the ballot boxes or pressing a single button of EVM in the latest state of the art mode. In this electronic media dominated world, hectic media interaction of various political parties take place on daily basis which has gone a long way in making the agendas and manifestoes of the different political parties clear and transparent for the people, which in turn, will enable them to make definite decision to support a particular party or candidate.

In fact, it is a healthy and positive development that we are witnessing warm as well as hot political debates and discussions on our TV channels these days, which had not been so in the previous elections, if I’m not mistaken. Different issues and problems are being discussed and debated accompanied by intermittent accusations and clarifications which inarguably help the poor people to think, judge and decide upon the candidates they will vote for.

Although not up to the level of transparent electronic-media-driven electioneering process in the west, particularly, USA, it is heartening to witness regular media political brainstorming taking place right before our eyes on our TVs via ISTV network. It’s good that we’re trying to catch up with the rest of the nation and the globe. It will be good if such media discussions and debates on various social, economic and political issues are made to happen in all the districts of the state.

Dialogues, discussions and debates should be the peaceful democratic tools that enable the people to elect their choicest candidates. Indeed, it is not an easy task for the electorate to choose the right representative which will remain practically unchangeable for five solid years; that being the case, it is of utmost importance that electors are given all possible opportunities and information before they have to make their crucial decision before they vote.

What we can/should always look forward and hope for should be something better than what had been there in the past. We cannot choose to make regressive movement; we have to look forward to a better future. This we can achieve only by making the right choice at the time of election.

Some major issues that remain to be tackled include corruption, unemployment, infrastructure developments like road, water, clash of interests etc. Undeniably, a number of developmental projects had been taken up and accomplished in the past recent years, some quite satisfactorily and others remain in deplorable state.

Some job recruitments such as doctors, MCS, MPS, MFS, higher secondary lecturers, primary teachers, IRB and police personnel etc had been conducted satisfactorily but some others remain in abysmal status. Electricity supply has been considerably and incredibly improved with the introduction of prepaid system which leaves no room for tax evasion.

Completion of constructions of Flyover bridge, Sanjenthong bridge, State High Court, State Capitol House, considerable development of JNIMS etc are worth mentioning and undeniable. However, on the front of road and highway development, a lot remains to be carried forward in the future lying before us.

Reduction and eradication of corruption again still seem to have a long way ahead. Sometimes, on seeing our roads and streets which are swarmed, to the hilt, by all kinds of cars, bikes and other vehicles, I wonder if our state has really become economically prosperous and industrially developed; but on close observation, the case is almost the converse.

Yes, there might be some who are (un)lucky enough to be embroiled and wallowing in corruption and other easy money-making business, but that isn’t the case for lakhs others who are struggling hard for survival.

On the other hand, there are rumours galore of job candidates paying lakhs of rupees to buy jobs, some selling a big portion of their land and others borrowing with burdensome interests; some succeed in getting their priced jobs while others fail. Buying and selling of jobs seems to be a significant aspect of corruption and an originator of some social evils.

For some that are involved in such transaction, we may concede they gain what they want but the sad thing is that that is not good for the overall well being of the state.

The partnership between development and corruption too doesn’t augur well for the future of the land. What I often hear is of the involvement of corruption in so many affairs of the state which I’m not whether it will go away if a new or different government comes in the future, but one thing is true corruption has been persistently with us for a very long; in fact, it has only grown in intensity. Perhaps, it will linger on for a long time in the future too unless some radical long term measures are taken up by the powers that will come into existence in the near future.

We do not know which political party or parties will succeed in capturing the seat of power, or in other words, forming the government as all the concerned parties appear to be fully confident of winning comfortable number of seats in the coming 2017 General Election.

Right now, it is very difficult to predict which side will gain thumping victory or whether a coalition government is going to evolve in the event of the failure of any party to win a majority and we are, at the best, quite unsure if we are going to witness a better or worse future. Hence, this is the time when we, common people, have to contemplate seriously as to what we should do, whom we should choose etc.

But one thing that we need to make sure is that the whole mega event happens without the interference of violence; without the involvement of loss of life and maiming. Everybody wants to win but that’s not possible. Let debates get into full swing and let there be war of words, but let there not be firing of guns and drawing of daggers for that will go totally against the spirit of democracy and freedom of speech.