Out but certainly not down :: Needed : A strong Cong
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 11 2017 -

Granted the Congress is out of power. This is however not to say that it is now down as a political power.

This is a point which should not blow over the head of all those Congress wallahs who have had their share of glory when the party was in power for 15 years on the trot.

There is a reason why The Sangai Express has taken a keen interest in the election of the State unit Congress president or president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee.

The people need a strong party which can act as the check and balance to the BJP, which seems to be riding high on the popularity chart.

This is good for being popular means that the BJP may have been able to strike the right chord with the people, so far, but this should not mean that the other political parties, particularly the Congress, should simply fade away.

At the moment, the Congress may have a good number of MLAs in the Assembly, but the question of greater import is where does the party stand against the BJP ?

This question is important for ultimately it is the organisational set up of the party which will matter when the time comes to go to the people to ask for their mandate.

In failing to arrive at a consensus on who will be the next president of the MPCC (I), the Congress is not exactly doing that.

On the contrary it is playing right into the hands of the BJP which has come up with the slogan, Congress Mukht.

It is a sad commentary on the Congress that for a party which has ruled the State for the greater part after it attained Statehood in 1972, it is now caught in an internal strife so much so that it is unable to even name the next MPCC (I) president.

Is it a case of there being too many people wanting to head the State unit Congress or is it a case of personal egos coming in the way ?

It is difficult to digest the fact that the Congress today does not seem to have anyone to name as the next MPCC (I) president, a man or woman, who can bring the Congress members together, fire their imagination and emerge as a political party which is still standing strong before the people.

To think that in the 15 years it was in power, the Congress failed or did not groom anyone to take the helm of the party is hard to come to terms with.

This seems to be what is happening right now, if the reported tussle between the Congress Legislature Party and the newly elected presidents of the District Pradesh Congress Committee is anything to go by.

Or is it a case of being bowled over by the intoxicants of 15 years in power that the Congressmen have forgotten that there is a party to be managed and put in place ?

Or is the State Congress, again, looking towards big brother AICC to settle their internal differences ? Either way this does not augur well for the party at all.

2019 will come sooner than expected and it is time for the Congress to set their house in order so that it can give a good fight to the BJP, at least in the Inner Manipur Parliamentary seat.

The people certainly expect more from the party which gave the Mahatma, Tilak, Patel, just to name a few, to the country. Or is the State Congress satisfied with being in power for 15 consecutive years at one point of time ?