IMPHAL: The Congress in Manipur lost half its MLAs, mostly to the ruling BJP over the past five years, but the party is not short on confidence. It believes the BJP’s alleged misgovernance will see the grand old party through in the upcoming polls.
“We won’t be affected by the defections (of our MLAs) because some of those who left have not got tickets. Several BJP leaders also defected to other parties after being denied tickets,” Manipur Congress chief Nameirakpam Loken Singh, who is contesting the polls from the Nambol seat in the Imphal Valley, told TNIE. He said during the last elections, people had reposed their faith in the BJP but it let them down.
“They failed to give jobs to the youth in last five years and declare the results of some competitive exams. The government claims it is clean but it is doing a lot of corruption,” Singh alleged.
He said the state government also failed to pay those who had implemented work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act as it diverted money in the name of fighting the pandemic.
The Congress has not yet declared the name of its chief ministerial candidate and is relying on the seasoned politician Okram Ibobi Singh, who is a former CM, to warm up to the voters. “The MLAs will decide the CM face after the party’s victory. All wings of the Congress are working hard for victory. We will be in power. We are hoping to get 32 seats,” Singh said confidently.
Given the political situation, people, who follow Manipur politics closely, felt the Congress overestimated its prospects. “The Congress lost half its MLAs. Most of the remaining 13-14 MLAs are likely to get re-elected. We may expect the party to win 10-12 of the state’s 60 seats. It could be 15 on the higher side,” Prof L Rajen of Manipur University told TNIE.
He was not very sure about the chances of the remaining Congress candidates. He said the Janata Dal (United) might win two-three seats and the National People’s Party more than 10. “Many of the NPP candidates are rich and this is likely to help the party,” Rajen said.
“The NPP is no longer on good terms with ally BJP. They are openly criticising and accusing each other. The BJP may be more visible compared to other parties but our people are sensitive and they are not very comfortable with the way the BJP operates,” he added.