Except in the case of 2004 election in the aftermath of the Mass June Uprising in 2001, it is unlikely that the Lok Sabha Election scheduled to hold in two phase here in the state of Manipur will have any impact with some of the important issues that had rock the entire North Eastern State. If one recalled almost all civil bodies in the state had called total shut down, staged violent protest and hold series of discussion criticizing the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) which the BJP led NDA government was trying to pass in the Rajya Sabha after clearing it at Lok Sabha. Before the CAB issue came it was the issue of detention of TV Journalist Kishorchandra Wangkhemcha under NSA after the Court released him. The issue that put halt the academic atmosphere in the state for almost three months due to agitation against Government backed Vice Chancellor AP Pandey by the Manipur University community seems to have been sideline with electioneering process rise.
If one looks back to the history of every election in the state Lok Sabha Election is a completely different phenomenon. Candidates sent up by the ruling party always won. And when it comes to the State Assembly Election it was always the political party that halts power in the Center. The lowest level election – that is for the local body election like the panchayat or Zilla Parishad is also a completely different picture.
Moreover, people of the state don’t take that seriously on the Lok Sabha Election. So, it was the MLAs and other elected members that took the Lok Sabha Election very importantly. The number of voters they can contribute is an X-factor to go ahead in their political career.
It almost all voters of the state are sensible enough to the kind of issues that may decide the fate of the state than there is no way that BJP candidates get elected as the National President of the BJP Mr. Amit Shah himself had stated that CAB will be passed if the BJP comes to power.
What is surprising the political culture of politician that has been witness by the people? AGP re alliance with the BJP, NPP joining hands with the BJP in fighting the lok Sabha Election and some workers and followers of the BJP here in the state talking openly about their support to the CAB showed that this election is not going to be on issue base.
As happen earlier, the one who have more MLAs, power (govt.) and other was likely to be the winner in both the inner and outer lok Sabha Election. The same thing was happened during Congress ruled too. Amidst the many issues about fake encounter, development and corruption issues the one nominated by the government always won.
Now it is confirmed that altogether 8 candidates are in the fray for contesting the Lok Sabha Poll. None of the political parties, which talk so much about, empowering of women, had not nominated any lady candidate, which showed that this is going to be election which will be fight with only money and power.
So, discussing the Lok Sabha election on issue base will be useless. An analysis base on how much money and power does the candidate have will be the right subject to discuss. Hope this regalia changes and this writing prove wrongs.
