Choice of candidate key to coming LS polls : Referendum on BJP led Govt
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 24 2018 -

To a large extent, the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be somewhat like a referendum on the BJP led coalition Government at Imphal and this is a point which must have registered in the knowledge of the State BJP leaders.

And this is one reason why The Sangai Express has been maintaining the line that the upcoming Parliamentary polls will be more crucial to the BJP than to the Congress.

For the past 15 years, the Congress has been able to send its candidate to the Lok Sabha from the Inner Parliamentary seat, underlining the point that the party in power at Imphal is much better placed to have its candidate elected than the others.

No reason why it cannot be the same this time too and this is what must be weighing on the minds of the BJP leaders at Imphal.

And this is the reason why the BJP cannot afford to show itself as a party which is deaf and blind to the stand of the people.

As stated before, the choice of candidate will be the first and most important step.

Choice of candidate can also go a long way in ringing out the message to the voters that the party has something new for the people and is not ready to tread the known and earlier path, which has already been done to death by other political parties.

The question is, has the BJP been able to zero in on anyone who can instil trust and faith in the people ?

Or will it go for the tried and tested folks ? Time can only tell, but it would do good for the BJP leaders to acknowledge the point that what the people want is a candidate who can convey the stand of Manipur and the people effectively on the floor of Parliament.

A clean and corruption free regime. This is the slogan on which Narendra Modi rode to push aside the challenge of the Congress in the 2014 Parliamentary polls.

Nearly five years down the line and there is nothing to suggest that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have veered away from this stand.

And what better way for the State BJP to demonstrate this in picking the right candidate ?

This is where the State BJP leadership will need to minutely study the antecedents of all those who have made a beeline for the party’s ticket.

On the other hand, the Congress too must have started surveying the ground to nominate its candidate, particularly in the Inner Parliamentary seat.

The question is whether it will continue to stick to its tried and tested men or go in for fresh looks to give a new look to the approach of the party.

Much will also depend on how the two principal political parties go about striking pre-poll deals with other political parties.

The composition of the BJP led Government more than testifies that it has been able to strike key alliance with a number of political parties and how they deal with their partners in the coming days will go some way in influencing the voters.

How about the Congress ?

Will it be able to strike a deal with the Left parties and take on the BJP which is identified as a right wing political party ?

Choice of candidates and alliance with other political parties will be key in the coming Lok Sabha elections.