I’ll start with this disclaimer. I’m not a supporter of Manipur People’s Party. But it is altogether another matter if I should decide to vote for it in this election. If I decide so, I guess it is demanded by the present situation of my society, not the least conditioned by my support of the party.
I think it was on the first Sunday of this month when the flag hoisting ceremony of Mr Laishom Ibomcha, candidate of the MPP for our constituency, was held. I’m not particularly impressed by the ceremony of this MPP candidate. It is only that I could not attend any of those of flag hoisting ceremonies and this MPP candidate’s place is only 4 or 5 house from mine and so, the proceedings of his ceremony could be clearly listened to, and appreciated, from my house. I was preparing my lunch that Sunday when those proceedings started.
The first major speaker was Mr Paonam Achou. He is the working president of MPP and himself a candidate from Uripok Assembly constituency. I must add here that he is being perceived as a sure shot winner in his constituency. His first sentence was to the effect that he was being overwhelmed by the sense of history of that meeting. I thought that he was into the election gimmickry. But his next sentence caught me unaware. He told the crowd that it was in 1968 (he gave the exact date and month—I can’t remember them) that the MPP was founded right there at the ‘mamang shang-goi’ of Laishom Ibomcha. This is the first time I heard about the matter and it occurred to me as a lesson in history. Then he coolly came to the portion of his speech which lucidly proved him what he is –an old warhorse! He told the crowd that Congress Party is very strong in the hills. To prove his point, he foisted last election results before the crowd mentioning that the Congress did actually capture 10 seats out of the 20 seats earmarked for the hills. But he hastened to add his knocked out punch line—he told the crowd that the Congress would returned with a nil seat in this election! He told them that it was because of the Naga and Kuki rebels’ resolve to send their own people to the next Assembly. Then, he again came to the last election’s result mentioning that the congress managed to get only 10 seats in the valley constituencies. So, he reasoned with the crowd that even if the Congress could manage (which he, of course, doubted!) to repeat last election’s performance, they would have with them 10 seats only. Then, he emphasized that with 10 seats only in their kitty it would be impossible for the Congress Party to form the next government. His manner of putting across the statistics before the crowd was really folksy and on that Sunday afternoon, I felt that the crowd readily accepted his reasonings.
The next major speaker was Mr R.K. Dorendra, who occupied the seat of Chief Minister Ship twice (I think it is twice—but I’m not sure). His was a very short speech. He told the crowd that Mr Mani Charanamei, the sitting Member of Parliament from the outer (that is, hill’s) constituency was never in politics. He emphasized that he was a minor employee in one of the departments of Government of Manipur. The NSCN (IM) talked him out to take voluntary retirement from his job and to contest the elections. He told the crowd that the rebel outfit, by using some magic wands, managed to get him elected, in the process, beating several veterans in the field. With such kind of track record, he told the crowd, that all 10 NSCN(IM) sponsored candidates in the Naga majority hills areas would be sure to get elected. In such a scenario, giving emphasis to the word, he told the crowd that it was very CRUCIAL elections in the political history of Manipur. He left the podium, deliberately letting the word, CRUCIAL, hanged there in the air, amongst the crowd. It was an impressive speech.
The last major speaker was Dr L. Chandramani. Well, he was speaking as though he was already occupying the Chief Minister’s chair! He told the crowd to get Mr Laisom Ibomcha elected so that he would be managing a major portfolio in the government! Besides all the blusters, there were those moments of poignancies in his speech. He clearly told the crowd he was readying for retirement from active politics. He used the word ‘we’ to include RK Dorendra and Thounaojam Chaoba by name to say that they were getting old and they were in the lookout for the second line of leadership. Again, he hinted at the emergence of Laisom Ibomcha as one of those new leaderships to strongly plead the crowd to elect him this time as well so that his emerging status was not jeopardized.
What he left unsaid was that it might be his last chance to become the Chief Minister. The crowd should understand that, isn’t it?!
On the lighter note, amongst the nearly 10 speakers, RK Dorendra has that indefinable touch of what one tends to call ‘class’. What is that? Is it that particular way he spewed out his words? Or, is it the intonations? I’m not sure but he sure have that—‘class’.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
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