From Gujarat to Centre stage to Manipur : Date with Modi or date with NaMo wave
- Sangai Express Editorial :: February 08, 2014 -

From Gujarat to the Centre stage as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP, Narendra Modi has certainly come a long way, but will his date with Manipur today be a date with Modi, the Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP or a date with the NaMo wave ?

All roads may not lead to Langjing Achouba ground on February 8, but certainly many ears and eyes will be on this venue.

Will Mr Modi come here with a catchy slogan for the people of Manipur, or will it be just another rehash of what he has been saying in his numerous campaigns across the country ?

Will he be able to sell the idea of the Gujarat model of development to the people of Manipur, or will it just be another exercise in taking pot shots at the Congress, the Congress Government in Manipur, to be more precise ?

Will his oratorial skill be able to strike a chord with the people of Manipur ?

This is the bottomline.

Remember the political climate or the political compulsions in Manipur are far removed from the other States. Manipur of course is not an exception to this as each region and each State in India have their own unique political compulsions.

This is where the question arises on how well the State unit of the BJP has been able to brief Mr Modi on the local context of Manipur.

On the other hand, how successful will the State unit of the BJP be in mobilising the people to crowd the venue of the public meeting is a question worth raising.

In Thounaojam Chaoba as the State unit president, the BJP has a man who is a well known political personality.

But a general election cannot be a one man show.

How well organised is the State unit of the BJP ? The public meeting at Langjing Achouba can perhaps be said to be first acid test for the BJP in Manipur and looking at the reality, it is going to be a tough call.

With not a single MLA in the State Legislative Assembly coupled with the fact that the BJP is yet to firmly establish itself as a political party with grass root workers, it is not going to be easy to mobilise the people and lay the red carpet for the man from Gujarat.

It is these facts which have added more interest and excitement amongst the keen political observers in the State.

Add the boycott call given by certain section of the people and drama is certainly written all over the proposed visit of Narendra Modi.

It could not have been a co-incidence by any yard stick and the manner in which the president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee and Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam went hammer and tongs against the BJP during a one day political convention of the Congress at Kwakeithel on February 6 was cleverly timed and politically worded to take the sting out of the proposed visit of Narendra Modi today.

It is early days yet, and with the BJP still keeping the card close to its chest, as far as naming the candidates in the two seats is concerned, anything may happen.

What however can be said with a degree of certainty is the fact that the war of words or verbal duel will continue in the days to come.

How the BJP manages to sell the idea of Narendra Modi as the next Prime Minister of the country to the people of Manipur will certainly go a long way in deciding the outcome of the elections in the two Lok Sabha seats.

For the moment, let’s see whether the public meeting at Langjing Achouba turns out to be a date with Narendra Modi the Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP or a date with the NaMo wave.

The prospect of the BJP in Manipur will largely rest on how it turns out in the end.