Every election is an important event in a democracy. But not all elections have equal implications for the society and economy. The present elections in Manipur are being held at a most critical time in contemporary history. Even from a far off distance the elections pitch and tempo was palpable, thanks to the information technology of course. My reactions here are based on the basis of inputs from the information technology.

Before we come to the issue of presence of so many leaders of the ruling party for the elections, I would like to identify three factors responsible for the recent high pitched elections. First, for the first time the Chief Election Officer (CEO) this time seems to take his task absolutely seriously, as one should. This seriousness has had the desirable democratic impact. The sure indicator is the rally against diktats in the mountains, which was unthinkable earlier. Diktats have always been a problem in the elections in the interior areas, and till now no CEO thought it important to enable the people to counter it. The present CEO deserves credit for his methodical application of mind to enable people to cast votes in a democratic way. Whether it has been an absolute success or not is a different matter, which would be known after the final round of elections, but the endeavour is to be appreciated.

Secondly, no other election in recent memory has been dominated by pure State-wide issues rather than leikai or constituency matters. This has made the election fever really spread over the whole body rather than localised. Thirdly, because of the pure State-wide issues dominating the elections, the stakes of each political party were naturally high. This has mandated them to mobilise as many human and other resources as possible to garner the votes.

It Is Here: It is in this context of high stakes and State-wide issues that I would like to discuss the seriousness with which the central leadership of the Congress has canvassed in Manipur this time. Manipur has turned out to be one of the most enigmatic States in the country. It has a strong insurgency movement with high articulative and mobilising powers. No doubt it is a State whose people prove themselves in varied spheres in the country and beyond, particularly in sports.

But it is fundamentally the increasing public involvement against and heightened demand for the removal of the massively hated 1958 legislation that has brought the top Congress leaders to Manipur for the elections. The Implications: While their presence indicates the seriousness with which they take the elections in Manipur, the question to be asked is why they are taking an unusual interest this time.

The North East Policy was evolved and adopted by the Congress in the 1950s. It was a policy evolved in a demographically heterogeneous and geographically diverse country by a group of people who had very little, if any, knowledge about the region. This extraneously evolved policy was adopted onto a group of demographically different people and geographically alien place. This had generated a false sense paternalistic satisfaction and, above all, a vested interest who doggedly continues their allegiance to the policy evolved and adopted at the time of full ignorance. Security considerations were the sole cornerstone of this policy.

The North East is now caught in this policy stickiness of the paternalists and the vested interests. Despite the partial realisation of the futility of the security oriented policy, the policy itself just refuses to go. It is in this context that we have to understand the presence of core Congress leaders for the elections. The party just cannot afford to lose the elections in the State. If they lose there can be three vital interpretations. First, the people genuinely want the 1958 legislation to go. Secondly, the security-based policies of the Congress are no longer to the liking of the people concerned. Third, the demographically different people and geographically diverse region has started asserting their democratic right at a mature level rather than depending on the paternalistic “cares” of the Congress.

Now these are three core points which the Congress simply would not like to be established. If these points are proved by the elections, history is going to be very cruel on the party in so far as the region is concerned. For me, this is the reason for the presence of the central leadership of the Congress in the election in Manipur. In fine outcome of the present elections would establish whether the people really vote on issues or otherwise. In any case, the elections this time are pregnant with implications.