It will be a show down between the Congress and the BJP. No doubt about it. But what is it that the people or rather Manipur really need ? Will the people go for the party or will they look at the candidate, his or her standing in society, his or her sincerity and the service he or she has rendered so far ? If the past is any indication, it is the party which will matter more and this is precisely the reason why there have been so many voices of discontentment, with some bordering on anger, when the BJP came out with its first list of 31 candidates. Nothing wrong in going for the party, but at least some thoughts ought to be given to the candidates in the fray too. What is the vision of the candidate, say standing for the election on the ticket of X party ? What about his or her morals ? How about his or her character ? These are all important questions for after the election, it is the elected candidate that the people will be in touch with and not the party to which he or she belongs. Not promoting personality cult, but studying the antecedents of the candidates in the fray is of utmost importance. Will the voters be in a position to convey their wishes and aspirations to the candidate once he or she is elected ? How accessible will the candidate be if in the event he or she is elected. There is a lesson to be learnt from the past and if the people have still not learnt a point or two from the past, then it is time they do now. The past should be the lesson to guide the future and in going for any candidate, the people need to rejig their memories and study the antecedents of all the candidates in the fray.
The term is for five years, but remember in choosing the candidate, the people will be charting out their future. Five years down the line and what is it that the people want ? These are questions which should feature in the consciousness of the people. Judging by what is going on, it is doubtful whether these questions have been seriously studied by the people or not and if the past is any indication, it may be safe to surmise that no one has seriously studied what their positions will be five years later. This is where the value of one’s vote need to be acknowledged and given due weightage. It is something much more than choosing one’s representative but is also about the future, the future of the young kids and the future of the place. What plans have the BJP and the Congress spelt out for the next five years ? Why are these two political parties more keen on landing blows on one another while not explicitly highlighting where they want to take Manipur after five years ? And since the two principal parties have not explicitly spelt out their stand on this, it is the duty of the voters to raise this question now. Consider the party to which the candidate belong, this is important, no doubt, but more importantly study the character of the candidate. This is what Manipur needs.
Source: The Sangai Express
