Local body election and electoral politics in Manipur
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 12 2016 -

Now the fates of 514 candidates have been sealed in ballot boxes with 171 lucky candidates already elected unopposed out of the total 685 candidates who are contesting the election to eight Nagar Panchayats and 18 Municipal Councils.

For the 514 candidates, the next three days would be filled with excitement, hope and of course anxiety.

As we commented in the previous edition, the local body election carries very high stakes for both Congress party and BJP for it would give an edge to whichever party that wins majority in the local body election over the defeated party as they start campaigning for the next Manipur Legislative Assembly election.

It is rather commendable that not much untoward or violent incidents related to the poll have been reported so far.

If BJP wins more seats than Congress party, it would be a serious challenge to the legitimacy of the incumbent Congress Government.

If it is otherwise, one may presume that the Congress party would remain in power for other five /six years. Such is the significance of the local body election.

No doubt, BJP and Congress are the main contenders of the local body election. Here, a moot question arises.

What happened to other political parties?

Apart from the two parties, only CPI and LJP are fielding candidates although 280 candidates are contesting as independents.

Everyone knows CPI has its base in Manipur even though it could not win a single seat in the last Manipur Legislative Assembly election while LJP, though a relatively much newer entrant in the electoral politics of Manipur, has one MLA in the name of Karam Shyam.

Whether it is Congress, BJP, CPI or LJP, they are all national parties which are controlled by their respective high commands.

In this context, we cannot help asking, “Is there no regional party active in the State of Manipur?”

Yes, we have Naga People’s Front (NPF) which has its headquarters in Nagaland.

Indeed, the party fared quite well in the Autonomous District Council election held last year and their performance was spectacular in Naga dominated districts.

However, their political activities and area of operation are confined to the hill districts and so far, they have shown little interests in the political affairs of the valley districts.

Perhaps, that is one fundamental factor for the NPF to stay away from the local body elections held today.

Is there no active regional political party which represents the collective interests of Manipur?

As far as our understanding goes, the answer, unfortunately, is No.

Yes, we had Manipur People’s Party (MPP), Federal Party of Manipur (FPM) and a few others but their presence in the electoral politics of Manipur is now either minimal or totally absent.

This is exactly what many read in the local body election held today.

In fact, it was only MPP as a regional party which could challenge the might of Congress party at one point of time.

How MPP and for that matter other regional parties slipped into such a sorry state needs thorough analysis and introspection.

People must also acknowledge that very few national political parties are genuinely interested in issues which are exclusive to a single State.

This is more so when collective interests of the people of Manipur contradict or don’t fall in line with their agenda.

A vibrant regional party led by bold, trustworthy leadership would make democracy more meaningful in this troubled land.

This is what has been repeatedly commented by some eminent citizens of the State.

It is rather disappointing that party-hopping is still very much prevalent in the State even after the enactment of the anti-defection law.

Electoral politics must not be necessarily about power-mongering.

It has much deeper purposes which are ensuring people’s security and welfare, and pursuing people’s collective aspirations.

But the electoral politics seen in the State seem like drifting aimlessly. This cannot go forever.

Can the local body election held today open the eyes of political leaders and citizens?

This is a million dollar question but the answer is anybody’s guess.