CEO Manipur Vevek Kumar Dewangan statement regarding Manipur’s Election at which he was quoted as saying that the Manipur’s election is the most free and fair election in the history of Manipur took each of us by surprise who had witness what has actually happened yesterday and on March 14.
Due to unwanted incidents, 34 polling station are going on re-poll today and at least one polling station in Ukhrul district is likely to hold re-poll tomorrow. A polling personnel was killed in bomb blast near a polling station at Ukhrul. There were many cases of UGs interfering the election, people witness candidates workers kidnapped, assaulted and even EVM are destroyed at some polling station.
Besides, organizing many SVEEP campaign, workshops and many other including painting competition,, poster campaign etc. etc, there were talks about money power and muscle power being utilized by almost all candidate in these election. Yet, the CEO calls this election a free and fair one.
Mentioned may be made that there were wide publicity by spending huge amount of money to make the voters understand that they should not be allowed to buy their valuable vote for a mere few money. But, the question is does those campaigns, publicity and all the effort really works or not. Well first and second phase election was held on March 4 and March 8 for the state of Manipur in 60 Assembly constituencies of Manipur. If one is sincere enough to tell what had witness during the first phase election, the kind of publicity, advertisement, and other form of campaign conducted by the ECI to prevent voters from selling themselves. He or she would definitely say that ‘the campaign never work’ and are useless. It is an open secret that, in almost all the assembly constituencies that election for the first phase was held, there were no dearth for use of money power. Almost all candidates, with exception to some distributed money to the voters ranging from Rs. 300 to Rs. 5000/-. This is known by every voters but the problem in exposing such thing is that no voters are ready to come out to tell that money were offered to them by the candidates. Back some few months or says weeks, certain important issues like the territorial integrity, corruption, framework agreement, economic blockade etc. seems to the issues of this election. But as few days were left, all issues seem to be meaningless and almost all workers and candidates busied themselves in buying voters. This was what was witnessed in the first phase Manipur poll. Saying so it does not meant that that money would really work or not but the reality is that effort for buying of votes was common in almost all assembly constituencies. Something is seriously wrong in the electoral system of our country. The laws the guidelines don’t actually work in the field. The Indian lawmakers need to work out something that will really make election by the people besides empowering the more to the Election Commission of India.
Just to prove one’s efficiency it would be wrong to misguide the people saying that under my leadership I have done the best when it was not at all done.
Precisely, the election was not at all free and fair.
