Undoubtedly a strong blow to the Cong : Expecting interesting days
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 07 2016 -

It may not be a crippling blow, but it is a blow nonetheless to the Congress.

After Y Erabot ditched the party and got hitched to the BJP bandwagon, N Biren from Heingang Assembly Constituency has also quit the Congress and resigned from the Assembly.

While Erabot is already with the BJP, it is still not very clear which party N Biren will join but this cannot be good tidings for the Congress by any stretch of the imagination.

True the Congress did receive a shot in the arm when four Trinamool Congress MLAs joined the Congress but this cannot erase the gains made by the BJP.

What if N Biren too follows Erabot and joins the BJP ?

This is a strong probability but nothing is for sure in the topsy turvy world of politics.

After N Biren left the DRPP, the party on which ticket he was first elected to the State Assembly, and joined the Congress, he has been with the Congress through thick and thift.

Not very sure why Biren chose to leave the Congress, but the coming Assembly election is sure to be a big factor.

This is all that more so since the BJP seems to breathing down heavily on the neck of the Congress and any political move is sure to be seen in the context of the two political parties and the coming Assembly election.

Whether he joins the BJP or not is another matter but the very fact that a sitting MLA has decided to quit the Congress and resign from the Assembly cannot be good news for the party which is in its third consecutive term in office.

The coming days will surely be interesting and one can expect some witty exchange of words between Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam and others, probably O Joy of the BJP.

The BJP has another good orator in the person of N Mangi and one can expect some witty barbs in the coming days.

One only hopes that the exchange of words does not get reduced to the status of punching below the belt for that will rob the beauty of debates and witty exchange of words between the two political- parties ahead of the Assembly election.

It remains to be seen how the Congress respond to the new development, but interesting days are ahead.

How about the other political parties ? Unfortunate it is but the coming Assembly election appears to be a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP, with the Naga Peoples' Front having a major say in the Naga dominated districts.

This says poorly of the other political parties, particularly the Manipur People's Party.

The Left, particularly the CPI, appears to be a dinosaur today and this is unfortunate.

The Congress better pull up its socks for the writings on the wall cannot be that encouraging for the party which has been in power without a break since 2002.