In the 9th Manipur assembly, we had at least some veteran politicians in the Opposition bench. It is still too early to predict the performance of the opposition in the 10th Manipur Assembly. But one thing is clear, most of the newly elected non-Congress MLAs are first-timers and most of them would be lost in the procedural maze of the parliamentary norms and practices. It takes years and much more than a term to learn the parliamentary practices and the intricacies of floor management. There would be few to help, but many to bully or mock their ignorance. Even the Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the run-up to the recently concluded elections mocked at the lacklustre performance of the Opposition MLAs. So it would be too cruel for the people to expect much from the opposition inside the assembly. So, where do we look to for raising the important issues and how do we bring to the public notice the woes and grievances of the people?
Dr M Nara, State Secretary of the Communist Party of India, had a point when he said, they will fight for the cause of the people outside the assembly and in the streets. Except for some sit-in-protests and antics, opposition parties have not been taking the lead or initiative in major issues confronting the state. Serious political rallies by political parties had become a very rare commodity in the recent past. Street politics could no longer influence electoral politics. Refusal of opposition to take the political leadership is one of the major factors of such a pitiable situation in our politics today. For instance, we may recall the stance and attitude of the opposition with regard to the July 23 incident at Khwairamband Bazar. The opposition simply could not take advantage of the ongoing session of the assembly then to highlight the issue of fake encounters. They could have brought the O Ibobi government to its knees. They instead choose to congratulate O Ibobi and the SPF government. Outside the assembly, they remained spectators of the civil society movement. The people had not forgotten that, and they are still forgiving the opposition. The opposition has to first accept that and draw lessons from past mistakes, before it takes its fight to the streets. They must apologise and seek forgiveness from the people for the July 23 fiasco. They must also have the courage to admit mistakes. One needs courage and conviction to become a serious player in today’s politics and for a better political culture. They must have the qualities of imagination, integrity, independence and incorruptibility. This is of course a rare combination of qualities. They must possess vision and understanding to tackle the immense problems facing the people and must, after objective analysis, be able to highlight worthwhile and long-lasting solutions. For instance, they must develop a Vision for the state and prepare a roadmap for ushering in prosperity instead of populism and tall promises. They must have a critical mind to analyse government policies with sound logic. The Communist Party of India is a cadre based party, even though small in numbers. Still, its cadres are useful in the dissemination of its basic policies and political stances among the general public. However, the party needs to adapt better to the Manipur situation. Other opposition parties should follow suit and start developing a dedicated base among the people. The Manipur Peoples Party had a base in the past, but it vanished due to infighting among party leaders. Regionalism could be a useful tool for developing a base once again. But first they have to prove their sincerity to the people. By now they must have realised, anti-Congressism and emotive politics does not work anymore. If by chance they are still caught in that illusion, forget the fight and retire from politics. If not, it is time to begin preparations for the streetfight.