Stand of others on ATSUM's demand? Grassroot elections
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 15, 2021 -

May not be related to the core issue, but nonetheless it would be interesting to ask what is the stand of the different political parties, particularly the Naga People's Front, to the demand raised by the All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur that the BJP led Government issue the notification for elections to the six ADCs ?

This question is important for in many ways the partners of the BJP led coalition Government all have a stake in the ADCs and surely the next election is something which must be critical to them.

Moreover how about the different units of the BJP, say what is the stand of the Ukhrul BJP to the demand that the ADC elections be held without further ado?

There may be no direct answers to the poser raised here for running a coalition Government may be a totally different kettle of fish than holding elections to the six ADCs, but whatever the case may be, the pending elections to the ADCs will surely be important.

More so since Manipur will be going for Assembly elections in the early part of next year and surely the question of which party holds which ADC will give an idea of how well entrenched are the different political parties at the grassroots level.

It is somewhat like which party scored in the Imphal Municipal Corporation elections or Council in the case of the other parts of the valley area.

It is also important to question why it should have needed a student body like ATSUM to raise the 'hold elections to the ADCs on time' banner?

From the side of the Government no official reason has been given so far, but ATSUM has already spelt out the reasons for its decision to impose the 24 hours bandh in the hill districts on March 12.

Thankfully the economic blockade which followed the bandh has been suspended, after the Government managed to convince the student body that a solution or a final decision will be taken by March 31.

The Government may have its own reason for failing to come out with the election notifications, despite having earlier inked an agreement with ATSUM, but it is disturbing to note that no official reason has been spelt out for failing to come out with the election notifications.

Or perhaps one may never get to know the reason officially, and this is what is disturbing.

It is local body elections which give understanding to the bigger Assembly elections and it is the Assembly elections which have a bearing on the Lok Sabha elections and it is the result of the Lok Sabha elections which decide how the Rajya Sabha elections will turn out to be.

Looking the other way when it comes to local body elections such as the ADCs will amount to breaking the chain of sequence, starting from the local bodies to the Assembly to Lok Sabha and to the Rajya Sabha.

And it goes without saying that it is the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections which decide who will be Governor of which State.

This is how the system works here and this is a fact that should not blow over the heads of anyone.

It is also time for ATSUM and other student organisations to forsake the idea that holding the Government to ransom with a bandh or two and an economic blockade is ideally not the way to go about it.

It is the people who suffer in the event of a bandh or a blockade and making the people suffer in the name of taking up a cause in the name of the people sounds contradcitory.