Leader Writer: Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh
The stage is all set for Okram Ibobi Singh to start his third innings in power and at the helm of state affairs. Amidst speculations of a hung assembly and criticisms of bad governance in their previous tenures, the Congress returned with a thumping victory in the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly election, thereby silencing its critics and supporters alike for the time being. Nonetheless, it should not take for granted the mandate given by the Manipur electorate. The public it seems is yearning for someone to lead them against odds and adversaries, and what better timing is there for the new government than the present to establish the much needed rapport between the government and the public. The thumping victory it has managed to achieve must have healed any harm or damage inflicted upon the party before the polls and the public seem to be rejoicing with the idea of a new government, and this must have boosted its morale and confidence to a new high. This is when the proverbial expression “strike when the iron is hot” comes in. Everything is set for the new government; its confidence is high, and it has the people’s support if we look at the huge victory and the Centre’s support. It is time for the elected members to commit themselves to the public and earn a place in their hearts. Speculations doing rounds among the general public about the new government are rife with new faces being inducted as ministers by abandoning old faces. And if this indeed becomes the reality, than the government could certainly earn more brownie points by choosing characters, who are educated, friendly, warm, lovable and sympathetic to the cause of the general public, as ministers.
Maintaining such attitude while choosing the ministers would certainly lessen the divide between the elected representatives and the electorate. The general perception has been that, once elections are over the elected representatives would go into hibernation and that they would certainly come out once again only when the next election comes around. The people as such are left out on their own in between the elections. The elected representatives for once and all should erase all such negative perceptions from the public memory and act out to help the public construe a more proper and appropriate image of them. The new government and its elected representatives could certainly change this with some minute detailing before the MLAs are inducted into the cabinet. The state needs good governance and for that a hero and a leader is needed. The elected representatives must be ever ready to respond at the beck and call of the people. And if we expect the government to maintain decorum in their interaction with the public, we, as the general public, should also maintain certain decorum so that the relation between the two is not disturbed. The ministers inducted should be wary of public wrath and carefully monitor how the public form ideas about them. They should be responsible for the development in all aspects of the state and its people.
The fact that Chief Minister O Ibobi has managed to complete two terms in office and starting on with the third in such a politically volatile state as Manipur is no mean feat as such. However, it is very much clear that the state also needs a hero to lead the way. The public has by electing their representatives done their bit, it is now for the elected lawmakers to make them heard and create their own image. With the formation of a new government in the state, the general public has high hopes and lots of expectations and it is up to the newly elected representatives to fulfill all of them. Let’s hope the new government could walk hand in hand with the public and bring peace, development and unity to the state in the coming years.