Deputy CM : An option, not a necessity :: Second Among Equals
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 16, 2012 -

Two important questions that follow the swearing in of Mr Okram Ibobi Singh as the Chief Minister of Manipur for a record third time in a row are, does Manipur need the post of a Deputy Chief Minister and should Mr Ibobi continue to hold the Finance portfolio as he did in the last ten years that he was the Chief Minister ?

Setting a few things straight may be in line here. Per se, the post of Deputy Chief Minister is an option, not a necessity.

However with coalition Governments becoming the norm rather than the exception in many States of the country and even at the Centre, the politics of cobbling up disparate groups of political parties to form a Government has come to dictate that this post become something of a necessity.

The cap on the Ministry size, through a legislation passed by Parliament in the early part of the new millennium, has also gone a long way in making this option something of a necessity- the arithmetic should be simple enough - giving the post of Deputy Chief Minister to a senior leader instead of co-opting three/four members may just about balance out the feeling of not being given enough representation in the Ministry.

On the other hand, the post of Deputy Chief Minister may be necessitated by the need to water down the feeling of being slighted within a party which runs the Government on its own strength.

Manipur will certainly fall into the latter category, where the Congress with a massive mandate does not need to share power with any other political party, but will need to contend with bruised egos and send out the signal that the party has its own internal mechanisms to acknowledge the major players.

As things stand today, indications point to a race for the post of Deputy Chief Minister with even the Kuki Inpi, Manipur coming out in the open and pitching in for senior Congressman Phungzathang Tonsing.

The other, as reports go, is the present president of the MPCC Gai-khangam. Apart from the question of who would make it to the coveted 12 men Council of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, the AICC leadership and O Ibobi will have to contend with who is going to be the second among equals, if at all a decision is taken to go in for this post.

Going in for the post of a Deputy Chief Minister may prove to be a double edged sword. On the one hand, as we have noted above, it could help in balancing the question of being represented or snubbed in the Council of Ministers.

If the post goes to Phungzathang Tonsing, then it could go a long way in addressing the presence of Churachandpur district in the Ministry, a district which returned six Congress MLAs, scoring a perfect ten in the process.

On the other hand, if Gaikhangam is given the post, it could well amount to addressing the bruised sentiments of his loyalists among the Congress MLAs and party. However, as some have expressed, creating the post of a Deputy Chief Minister may well amount to creating a power centre within the CLP, which may rock the boat of the Government in the long run.

As in everything else with life, nothing comes without its share of thorns, but the deciding factor should be whether it makes sense to have a Deputy Chief Minister in a House of 60 or not.

Apart from the positives and negatives which have been noted, making this option a necessity will obviously mean another strain on the State exchequer. Does it make sound financial logic to have a post which should ideally be an option ?

The test for the new Congress Government has begun. Coming back to the other question is whether it is prudent for the Chief Minister to continue holding the Finance portfolio for the third successive term.

Delegation of power, authority and responsibility is the essence behind the very term and idea, 'First Among Equals' and making a portfolio as crucial as the Finance Department the monopoly of a single man for the third consecutive term runs contrary to this basic understanding.

Delegate but be at the head of all is what leadership quality demands. Whether the Chief Minister is ready to listen to this or not remains to be seen, but a thorough and insightful relook at this is needed, especially when the concept of delegating responsibility and power is fast gaining currency