2022 is still two years away : Approaches to the media
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 11 2020 -

It is still a little less than two years away, but as they say time flies and 2022 will be here in a jiffy.

Election time will be here once again then and it is interesting to see that the BJP seems to have rolled up its sleeves well in advance.

If BJP members in Manipur have started rolling out what they call the achievements of the Government, comparing it with the Congress Government which was in power for 15 years on the trot, Union Ministers from New Delhi too have not been caught wanting, sharing their thoughts and ideas on a number of topics, such as One Election, One Nation.

It may or may not be related to the Assembly elections scheduled for 2022, but the BJP is leaving nothing to chance to reach out to the people.

If Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba reached out to the people of Ukhrul and elsewhere underlining the presence of the saffron party in the hill districts, then at least two important members of the State BJP have taken the trouble to pen down, what they claim are the achievements of the BJP led Government at Imphal.

Too early to say whether such an approach will go down well with the people, but this is something which the Congress never ventured into, during the 15 years it was in power here at Imphal.

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been panned by critics for not holding a single press conference in his first stint in office, that has not stopped his Ministers from writing and which are issued through the Press Information Bureau, on issues which are current in the country.

This is where a sort of similarities may be seen in the manner in which some prominent members of the BJP in Manipur have started writing about the BJP and its Government in the Imphal based dailies.

This is what is interesting. In the 15 years it was in power here, the Congress never did utilise its men and women to highlight what it did.

In fact, it was more like staying aloof from what the media wrote and reported.

On the other hand, the BJP led Government here has conveyed the message that it is ultra sensitive and everything that is written or not written about in the media seems to have been taken note of.

Which of the two is more desirable is a matter of opinion, but what is interesting is the stark difference in the approach to the media by the two principal political parties.

At least this is the case here in Manipur.

On the other hand, it remains that in as much as Manipur needs a strong Government, there is also the corresponding need for a strong Opposition.

This is a responsibility which neither of the two principal political parties should overlook.

The position of the Congress must have surely taken a severe beating following the recent by elections in five Assembly Constituencies, but this should not mean that it should throw in the towel. 2022 may still be two years away, but as pointed out earlier here, it will only be a matter of how time flies and it will be here sooner than later.

The BJP seems to have already started its preparations, with Central leaders of the party already lined up to visit the State and this is where it becomes more and more interesting.