Chameleon politicians and napless voters
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: August 03, 2021 -

IT'S not surprising that the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) is not only downplaying the joining of Covindas Konthoujam to its arch rival BJP but also theorising that there would be tussle for leadership within the saffron party.

There might be substance in the remarks of MPCC interim president N Loken that Govindas shifting allegiance to the BJP will create fissures in the near future as politics in Manipur has always been about one-upmanship but the fact remains that just months away from the 2022 state assembly election the Congress party's position is not enviable.

Like it or not, the departure of Govindas, who has been one of the most prominent faces of the grand old party will embolden the BJP masterminds to further disorient organisational settings of the Congress to pave the way for its victory in the upcoming election.

On its part, the BJP might be unable to translate into action promise made to the people in the run up to the 2017 elections that if elected it would deliver in 15 months what the Congress could not perform in its 15 years of rule,.

However, its other agenda to completely root out the Congress seems to be fairly successful as could be comprehended from the BJP and its allies holding the rein of power in maximum number of states and union territories in sharp contrast to the Congress party gradually losing its splendour even in the northeast region that used to be its domain before BJP stormed to power in the 2014 parliamentary elections.

That the Congress party is in serious trouble ahead of the next assembly election could also be comprehended from N Loken enumerating that out of the 28 Congress MLAs elected in the 2017 polls only a handful of loyal legislators remain in the party with the majority of its MLAs having either defected from the party and suspended for anti-party activities or joining the BJP.

While the Congress MLAs, who opted to jump ship in the formative period of the BJP-led government demonstrated inherent characteristics of Manipur's politicians to seek greener pasture continuation of the same trend in the Congress or any other political outfits in the run up to the forthcoming election will only corroborate the people's cognition that the democratic exercise in the state's context is more about competition among the fortune hunters.

As a national party that had ruled the country and state for maximum terms till date, the Congress continuing to see efflux of its elected legislators one after another ever since it was unseated from power testifies that the five yearly democratic exercise in Manipur has little to do with serving interests of the electors.

Rather, it is pretty obvious that election is all about the MLA aspirants making extravagant investment and hoping to improve the net income at any cost, including ditching the party that helped enhance his/her winnability ratings.

Thus, it could be safely concluded that people of development-starved Manipur do not exercise their franchise rights on the basis of brilliance, integrity and sincerity of the candidates but cast theirvotes for those who could guarantee them fleeting material relief.