Reading Home (NE) politics right : Mr Gaikhangam on right track
- Sangai Express Editorial :: December 11 , 2013 -

When it comes to home politics (read the North East region), State Home Minister Gaikhangam seems to have his finger on the pulse of the people.

Too bad his prediction that the anti-Congress wave that swept the three States (Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh) would not affect the North East region came a day late, though not too late.

This observation is made on the premise of the extremely good show put up by the Congress in Mizoram, where the party bagged 27 seats in the 40 member Mizoram Legislative Assembly.

A face saver it was for the Congress and it is comforting to know that Manipur has a Deputy Chief Minister, who also happens to be the president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee, who understands the political dynamics in the region.

The Deputy Chief Minister hit the nail on the head, alright, but the truism in his prediction is also an indication of how far removed the North East region is from the rest of the country as far as electoral politics is concerned.

Whether this is good for the region or not is another matter, but this is an interesting aspect that should merit the attention of political analysts.

A general perception there is in Manipur, that the fortunes of a political party here depends on which party is in power at Delhi.

This may be true to a certain extent, but a look at the not too distant past may just about negate this perception.

When the BJP went on a juggernaut and saw Atal Behari Vajpayee as the first Prime Minister from outside the Congress to complete a full term in office after the 1999 Parliamentary election, it was not the BJP nor the Congress which was in power here.

It was a regional political party, the Manipur State Congress Party which was in power at Imphal and it was the alliance struck with the BJP that catapulted Th Chaoba of the MSCP into the Union Council of Ministers.

Again after the series of musical chair played out on the turf of Manipur sometime in 2000, it was not the BJP nor the Congress which formed the Government, but the Samata Party under Radhabinod Koijam with outside support from the BJP.

That the Koijam Government did not touch the 90 days mark is a different story but it is more than indicative that the perception that the fortunes of a political party depend on which party is in power at Delhi rests on a false premise.

Again, in 2002, Manipur went for the Congress while the BJP led NDA Government was still in power at Delhi. Another example that gives more credence to the observation of Mr Gaikhangam.

This is not to discount the prospect of the BJP or the other political parties here when Lok Sabha election will be held sometime next year.

This is more of an exercise in taking cognizance of the observation made by the president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee.

The observation or rather prediction of Mr Gaikhangam also comes close to the understanding that as far as politics or any other issues are concerned, the North East is unique in its own ways.

It is this which political pundits and experts on North East (there are a dime a dozen experts on the region), should take note of.

In the same vein, if the election results in the three States of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are anything to go by, then the president of the State unit of the BJP, Mr Th Chaoba cannot be faulted in stating that this is the beginning of the downfall of the Congress party, which has been in power for two consecutive terms at the Centre.

But as stated in this column in the previous edition, it has not always been the case of State Assembly elections impacting on the Parliamentary election.

The two, no doubt influence each other, but the factors deciding the outcome of the election at the State level and at the National level may not always be similar.

At times it may even run contrary to each other.

It is early days yet, but as far as the North East is concerned, Mr Gaikhangam has been on track and this augurs well for the Congress in Manipur.