Whistle blown for five ACs : Ex-MLA now Minister
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 07 2020 -

It is getting more and more interesting. Five Assembly Constituencies set to go for by polls on November 7 and adding to the spice is the presence of one recently appointed Minister.

Come November 10 and it will be known whether the recently appointed Minister will be promoted to the status of a sitting MLA or will be remembered as an Ex-Minister.

This is where it will be interesting to watch how the people of Wangoi Assembly Constituency vote on D Day and one wonders if they are aware of the immense responsibility that rests on the tip of their finger when they punch in their choice on the EVM.

The BJP has done its part in going full steam ahead to ensure that the ex-Congressmen, who are ex-MLAs but Ministers now, are placed in the best possible position to bring in the voters to their favour and this is what will make the coming by elections all that more interesting.

Will the voters back a candidate who first ditched the party on which ticket he was elected, or will they be overwhelmed by the Ministerial portfolio which now adorns his name ?

All questions at the moment but more than enough to make the run up to the elections interesting and exciting.

It is not only Wangoi Assembly Constituency which will see an Ex-Congress MLA but now appointed Minister but also Wangkhei Assembly Constituency and to be sure this can push all pollsters running back to their favourite indulgence of calculating the swing pattern and which will weigh heavier on the minds of the voters, the Ministerial post or the party hopping indulgence of the candidate.

Tough to say but this is what should weigh on the minds of the voters when they go out to vote on November 7.

Not unexpected that the Congress has also gone ahead and announced that they are ready to take the fight to the citadel of the BJP when the by elections are held.

That the Congress picked the opportune moment to announce this, when 37 members of the Lok Jana Shakti switched over to the oldest political party in the country, more than says that it was waiting for the right moment to spell out its mind.

Making this more significant is the fact that the lone LJP MLA who was in the Council of Ministers was dropped in the recent Ministry reshuffle.

Moreover the LJP has been a staunch supporter of the BJP led Government and in so far as Manipur is concerned, its lone MLA was never seen as someone who raised any voice of dissent against the BJP leadership in Government.

So lone Minister of LJP dropped with 37 of its members joining the Congress and surely the situation could not have been better for the Congress than this.

It will also be interesting to see how the Ministers in the BJP led Government throw their weight behind the BJP candidates in the by elections.

Campaigning in Constituencies other than their own will go a long way in determining the vote catching capabilities of the Ministers and just how they conduct themselves will be significant.

Apart from the Chief Minister, how many BJP Ministers have it in them to convince voters in other Constituencies ?

The politically conscious will certainly watch the conduct of not only the party but also in how the other Ministers go about selling the prospects of the BJP and the candidates to the voters.

This can go some significant distance on deciding who the star campaigner of the BJP may be when Assembly election is held sometime in 2022.