Let it be clear. It was not Jyotin Waikhom who chose to leave the Congress, but the party which literally sealed the door on him in admitting Kh Joykisan into the Congress sometime back. The same is the case with Sagolshem Achouba, the man who has been contesting from Wangoi Assembly Constituency as a Congress candidate in the past elections. Here the script runs the same with Achouba quitting the Congress, after the party admitted sitting MLA O Lukhoi. Backing the man with the better prospect of winning and in the process give a kick to sensibilities like party loyalty. A clear reflection that the Congress this time does not want to take chances and will back only the man with the best chance of riding home in the election. Herein lies the merit of the BJP. It is more than an indication that the Congress this time has acknowledged the serious threat the BJP poses in the coming election and if not for anything else, then this should at least give some comfort to the BJP. It is also more than clear that Jyotin Waikhom does not really believe that the Congress will return to power or else a veteran Congressman like him could have bargained for a plum appointment in many of the corporations which function under the Government. That he instead chose to join the BJP and contest the upcoming election as a BJP candidate is a clear message that not many believe that the Congress will return to power.
Jyotin Waikhom is obviously not new to the politics of election. Long before he joined the fray he was closely associated with former Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam and it was only in 2007 that he set to out contest the polls as a Congress candidate after Radhabinod Koijam had left the party. Thrice he has contested the election and each time he has come second, underlining the point that in election there is no podium finish for the second best. The last straw for the Congress was perhaps his defeat to Joykisan in the by election held in 2015. Joykisan then contested the by election as a BJP candidate and remained a BJP MLA till the minute he decided to switch side to the Congress after the seven new districts were created. The by election was literally Joykisan versus the State Government with the Chief Minister himself and the Deputy Chief Minister campaigning for the then Congress candidate, Jyotin Waikhom. That he was defeated in the by election was something like a defeat for the State Government too. This and the earlier defeats in 2007 and 2012 must have certainly given new thoughts to the leadership and hence the decision of the Congress to admit Joykisan to the party’s fold. Apart from the BJP wave, Jyotin Waikhom will certainly be playing the emotion card to woo the voters this time.
Source: The Sangai Express
