Still 25/26 months away but... Calls to vote with conscience
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Still a good 25/26 months away but already some section of the people have started talking about the next Assembly elections and how it is time for the people to vote with a conscience. In many ways the call for a conscientious vote could be an indication that not all are satisfied with the politicians who have been given the mandate to rule. And the ongoing ethnic clash is obviously the trigger point which has led many to put on their thinking cap and acknowledge the fact that the button they punch when the time to vote comes, could mean a lot in deciding which direction Manipur takes her first few steps. Year 2027 is when Manipur will go in for the next Assembly elections and while the call to vote conscientiously has been there for decades, this is perhaps the first time that people have seriously started thinking about the type of people they should send to the Assembly. Vote for a change as understood in the context of handing the responsibility of running the Government to a new dispensation or vote to ensure that a new class or political leaders is needed to take up the case of Manipur more effectively and more importantly, honestly and sincerely. Or continue with the status quo on the ground that nothing much can be expected from a change in the party or persons who will get to form the Government. Early days yet, but it is significant that such talks have started doing the round and seriously at that. It is no longer just a topic to be discussed at the leikai tea stalls or during the gathering of some friends on any occasion, for there is something serious about the way in which talks have centred around the need to send people with guts and conviction to the Assembly next time. This is what is interesting and this augurs well for then it can be said that Manipur is ready to vote with a conscience after studying all the pros and cons of deciding which party or which candidate to support. And any talk of responsible voting always centres around the influence that money has played in the past elections. The power of M, this is what it is all about with the M obviously standing for Money and more Money and to an extent Muscle, or Muscle power. Anyone who has taken even a bit of cursory interest in the election in any Assembly Constituency will know how far the M factor can go to sway the outcome of an election and the worrying point is, while all have agreed to the evils of the M factor, no one seems to know how to blunt or neutralise the influence of M. As stated, it is early days yet and 25/26 months is a long way off, if one counts the number of days, but then it can also come swiftly like the way in which the ongoing ethnic clash is nearing its 24th month mark.
The ongoing ethnic clash will obviously hang heavy in the Meitei dominated Assembly Constituencies as well as in the hill areas which are dominated by the Kuki-Zo community while in the Naga dominated places, it could be something different. And in voting, voters in the Meitei dominated ACs and the Kuki dominated areas would have demonstrated where they stand in so far as the response of Delhi and Imphal has been to the ongoing ethnic strife which has already killed more than 250 people, displaced thousands and razed to ground hundreds of houses, places which were once homes of all the displaced people. With just five MLAs in its kitty, the Congress has been making all the right noises and taking the fight to the courtyard of the ruling BJP and the question is whether the oldest political party in the country would be able to take its excellent show in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 to the Assembly elections in 2027. On the other hand, what magic would the BJP pull out from the election hat once 2027 comes within shaking hands distance. Moreover would the different CSOs which have been raising different demands be able to capitalise on their stand before voting day comes ? These are questions at the moment, but important questions for anything can happen in the days leading to 2027 and its outcome will say whether any lessons have been learnt or not.
The ongoing ethnic clash will obviously hang heavy in the Meitei dominated Assembly Constituencies as well as in the hill areas which are dominated by the Kuki-Zo community while in the Naga dominated places, it could be something different. And in voting, voters in the Meitei dominated ACs and the Kuki dominated areas would have demonstrated where they stand in so far as the response of Delhi and Imphal has been to the ongoing ethnic strife which has already killed more than 250 people, displaced thousands and razed to ground hundreds of houses, places which were once homes of all the displaced people. With just five MLAs in its kitty, the Congress has been making all the right noises and taking the fight to the courtyard of the ruling BJP and the question is whether the oldest political party in the country would be able to take its excellent show in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 to the Assembly elections in 2027. On the other hand, what magic would the BJP pull out from the election hat once 2027 comes within shaking hands distance. Moreover would the different CSOs which have been raising different demands be able to capitalise on their stand before voting day comes ? These are questions at the moment, but important questions for anything can happen in the days leading to 2027 and its outcome will say whether any lessons have been learnt or not.