Needed : A strong Opposition :: A resurgent Congress
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 12, 2024 -

The convincing wins in the recent two Lok Sabha seats seem to have given that much needed boost of confidence to the Congress and what one sees is the oldest political party raising all the right issues at the moment.

One only hopes that this does not peter out in the long run for what a democracy requires is a strong and effective Opposition.

Out of power since 2017, the Congress seemed lost during the first stint in office of the BJP led Government, despite the fact that 28 of its candidates had registered wins in the election back then.

In the first five years of the BJP in office, the Congress was unable to strike a chord with the people and created more than enough space for the BJP to continue with their onslaught and the fallout was there for all to see in the resounding victory the saffron party managed to whip out in 2022 Assembly polls, winning 32 Assembly seats alone.

The Congress returned a pathetic show managing to send only 5 MLAs to the Assembly. The BJP further consolidated its position, whipping up support from the NPP with seven MLAs, the NPF with 5 MLAs and two Independents to boot.

Democracy is undoubtedly about numbers and hence the line ‘number game‘, but following the convincing wins notched up by the Congress candidates in both the Lok Sabha elections in Inner and Outer Parliamentary Cons-tituencies this year, the spring is back in the walk of the oldest political party in the country.

The ongoing ethnic strife, which is over 17 months, the utter failure of the Government to resolve the issue and the seeming indifference of the Prime Minister have all added to the muscle of the Congress and this is where one can see the party starting to reassert itself and deliver blows where and when it matters.

And the Congress has the report card to show for it. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not deemed it fit to even grant an audience to the BJP leaders of Manipur to discuss the ethnic clash, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has visited the trouble torn State not once but twice.

In the process the Congress leader was able to strike a chord with the people and this was reflected well in the results of the two Lok Sabha seats.

One wonders whether the BJP leadership in Manipur has noted this or not, but as things stand today, the saffron party appears to be on the defensive most of the time and not without reason for there is not much to show that genuine efforts have been made by Delhi to resolve the issue.

Border fencing, suspension of the Free Movement Regime, admission that incursion from across the border etc are some cards that have been whipped out by the saffron party here to show that Delhi is doing something concrete and while all these sounds good on paper, the fact stands that weaponised drones emerged and long range rocket missiles landed at Meitei villages after these measures were announced.

All indications that what is on paper and what is at the ground contradict each other and people have not taken kindly to this.

As the oldest political party and as the party which has been in power for the longest period here in Manipur, all these have not missed the keen ears and eyes of the Congress and this can perhaps be seen in the manner in which it has gone about systematically landing verbal shots on the BJP.

The writing on the wall is clear, though it may be blurry for 2027 is still a good 2.5 years away but this is a wake up call to the State unit of the BJP.

The very fact that internal rumblings have started to rock the boat of the NPP is more than enough indication that political parties are today a bit wary of portraying itself as a party deemed to be close to the BJP.

A fact again borne from the huge loss that the NPF candidate suffered at the hands of the Congress in the Outer seat since it is deemed to be close to the BJP, which was underlined by the very announcement of the Chief Minister that the saffron party would support the NPF in the Outer Constituency.

The crux however is whether these points have registered in the consciousness of the saffron party here in Manipur or not.

The answer may come in the coming days, but all these are realities which would not have missed the consciousness of the Congress.

The reality here is the BJP is still far off from the stated objective of a Congress Mukt North East region and apart from the recent Lok Sabha elections, one just have to acknowledge the deep sense of disillusionment felt by the people of Manipur with the BJP and in the process what one sees is a resurgent Congress, a party which has rediscovered its energy.