On NPF issues, Rio stand tall
Chained to a 1 point agenda
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 02, 2012 -

Everywhere I go, I see a different India -This was Oprah Winfrey during her highly publicised, recent visit to the country.

Twist this a little and it could well have been a journalist from mainland India saying the same thing while studying the issues which are likely to impact on the election in Manipur.

So while territorial integrity of Manipur may well have been on the manifestoes of all the political parties, except the Naga People's Front, it was not at all surprising to see that this is an issue which was not raised by candidates in the hill districts, especially in the areas which are deemed to be dominated by the Naga people.

On the contrary it was only the NPF and its star campaigner, Mr Nephiu Rio, Chief Minister of Nagaland, who pulled no punches in making the stand of the party clear.

Surely the maiden appearance of the NPF on the electoral arena of Manipur has been interesting.

It is a different matter that its agenda of integrating all Naga inhabited areas under one administrative block, by physically distorting the map of Manipur, is anathema to the very idea of Manipur, but it has to be given that the NPF is the only political party which had a clear cut agenda in the election, where each and every of the 12 candidates and their workers and supporters spoke the same language.

While this clearly sent out a positive note, a sign of perfect harmony between what they say and what is on their agenda, on the other hand it also underscored the point that the NPF as a political party is still unable to address the plurality of a democracy, where different opinions and political thoughts should co-exist and where differences should be the fuel for progress and healthy development.

This however does not take away the fact that in many ways, Mr Nephiu Rio was only one of the two 'Star Campaigners', the other being Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, that Manipur witnessed in the run up to the election.

The glamour quotient of Bollywood stars came nowhere near the political issues whipped up by the man from Nagaland and this is what separates the star politicians from film or TV stars.

No doubt Mr Rio was in his element as he went about whipping up passion on issues which he thinks are dear to the Naga people.

The one hitch is, it sounded too tutored and secondly, it appears that the tutors are not fully convinced that the star performance put in by the Nagaland Chief Minister would be enough to sway the people.

This is evidenced by the rising allegations of threats and intimidations of workers and candidates who belong to political parties which may have a different take on the issues raised by the NPF and Mr Rio.

This is where its underbelly lies exposed.

The result of the election will only be known when the votes are counted on March 6, but already certain things have become self explanatory.

The NPF is determined to make its presence felt in the political field of Manipur.

But there still hangs the question of whether a party which seeks to make a mark for itself with only one agenda can sustain in the long run or not.

Moreover, community bashing can only have a limited appeal and can never be the basis to lay a strong political foundation.

Or if the NPF is here with just an eye on one election and not thereafter, then it is a different story.

It will be like the proverbial flash in the pan, with no repeat value.

A sure shot recipe for committing political hara-kiri.

Mr Rio, as the Chief Minister of a State and the most acceptable face of the NPF ought to try and portray himself as a leader whose appeal can and should extend beyond Nagaland and to do this, he would have to first free himself from the chain which has tied him to a single agenda or community or ethnic group.

A pan North East leader cannot and should not be identified as a man championing the cause of only one particular community, especially by pitting it against some others.

A tragedy that a man, who could have done so much is yet to be able to extend his political views beyond the 'Naga Family.

'