Okram Ibobi Singh

‘Not Given Enough Time to Speak at Shah’s All-Party Meet,’ Says Ibobi Singh, Only Manipur Representative

‘The home minister [Amit Shah] refused to give me any time, said, ‘Ibobi, you can come and meet me later’.’

New Delhi: Former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, after attending the all-party meeting called in New Delhi by Union home minister Amit Shah on June 24, said he was not given adequate time to put forth his suggestions on how to bring peace in the violence-ridden state.

Ibobi Singh – who was the state’s chief minister for 15 consecutive years before the incumbent chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party, N. Biren Singh, took over in 2017 – was the only representative from Manipur at the meeting.

The rest of the invitees included chief ministers of Meghalaya and Sikkim among others.

Later, speaking to reporters at the Congress headquarters, Ibobi Singh, also the president of the state Congress, said he was barely given “seven-eight minutes” to speak at the meeting.

Singh said he intervened after Shah’s address and asked to table points put together by him and his party. These included suggestions to overcome rampant violence in the state. However, Singh was not allowed to elaborate, he said. “The home minister refused to give me any time, said, ‘Ibobi, You can come and meet me later’.”

“This was most unfortunate on my part,” Singh added.

The former chief minister also underlined the possible reasons for the home minister asking him to stop midway through his speech.

“I began by saying two things. One, that the all-party meeting which the government is finally holding after 50 days of violence in Manipur should have been chaired by the prime minister. I also said the prime minister has not spoken a word about Manipur till now. During the elections, things may be different, but after the elections, a prime minister is everybody’s prime minister.”

Singh also said in his opening remarks that the all-party meeting should have been held in Imphal instead of New Delhi for the people of the state to get a message that the Union government was serious about peace and normalcy in the state and that their pain was felt nationally.

“We may be a tiny state but we also keep the country secure by dint of protecting an international border with Myanmar,” he said.

Soon after articulating this train of thought, Singh said, he was asked by Shah to wind up his speech. Since he was not given any time after that, the Congress released the eight points that it had readied to suggest to the government at the all-party meeting.

Congress chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh, sharing the dais with Singh at the press meet on June 24 evening, read out the following points.

This all-party meeting should have been chaired by the PM who has not said a single word on Manipur in the past 50 days.

This all-party meeting would have been better if it had been chaired by the PM and had been held in Imphal. This would have sent a clear message to the people of Manipur that their pain and distress is also a matter of national anguish.

All armed groups must be disarmed immediately without any compromise.

The state government has failed miserably in providing effective governance when it has been needed most. The Chief Minister himself has admitted publicly twice his failure to handle the situation and deal with the crisis. He has also asked for forgiveness of the people. On March 11, 2023 he unilaterally withdrew the state government’s commitment to the tripartite Agreement on Suspension of Operations with certain militant groups claiming to be upholders of Kuki interests. This move of his was later rejected by the Union Home Ministry but by then enough damage had been done. This is one glaring example in a series of blunders. The Chief Minister should be replaced immediately.

The unity and territorial integrity of Manipur should not be compromised with in any manner.

Grievances of each and every community must be heard and addressed sensitively.

Steps should be taken by the Union Government to ensure availability of essential commodities by keeping the two national highways open and secure at all times.

A package of relief, rehabilitation, resettlement, and livelihood for the affected people must be prepared without delay. The relief package announced is grossly inadequate.

Manipur: As Ibobi Singh Leads Move to Topple BJP Govt, CBI Summons Former CM in Corruption Case

The timing of the Central agency’s summons, over a November 2019 case, has raised eyebrows.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation has summoned former Manipur chief minister and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh for questioning in a case of alleged misappropriation of state government funds worth Rs 332 crore during his regime. The summons come at a time when Singh is leading the move to replace the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur.

The CBI had filed the FIR related to the case in November last year. Singh has been asked to be present for interrogation on June 24. A CBI team has already arrived at the state capital of Imphal.

The timing of the summons by the central agency which functions under the Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, is, however, being viewed by political observers in the state as a possible move to buy time and thwart the Ibobi-led Secular Progressive Front’s attempt to topple the N. Biren Singh government.

“The timing can’t just be overlooked at a time when Ibobi has been made the joint leader of the Front and together with the National People’s Party (NPP) MLAs and the TMC and independent MLAs, has sought a special session of the assembly from the governor to bring a no-confidence motion against Biren government,” a senior editor of a local news organisation told The Wire.

The BJP-led government plunged into a crisis on June 17 with the shifting of three party MLAs to the Congress besides its ally, the four NPP MLAs along with the lone independent candidate and the All India Trinamool Congress legislator pulling away their support to it.

Also read: RS Polls: Manipur Speaker Allows Only Those Rebel Congress MLAs Who Support BJP to Vote

The editor, who requested to be anonymous citing “vindictive politics in the state”, also pointed out, “A similar development had happened in Karnataka when another central agency, the Enforcement Directorate, was set after state Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar because he played a crucial role in the formation of the coalition government there after the 2018 polls. Allegation of corruption against political leaders must be probed but it should be in public interest and not in the interest of any party.”

Unofficially, sources in the state BJP don’t deny the timing of “the Central government’s move”. One such source added, “Side by side, an attempt is also being made to bring back the four MLAs of the NPP. This is because we need the numbers. Five of the Congress MLAs have been disqualified for supporting us. Three of our MLAs have resigned from the party.”

A party source said, “NEDA [North East Democratic Alliance] convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma arrived in Imphal on June 22 to placate the rebel MLAs. He has the full support of the NPP president [and Meghalaya chief minister] Conrad Sangma, who came with him to Imphal too. Between them, they held several sessions with the legislators but the state NPP leaders are led by Yumnam Joykumar who has serious differences with the chief minister N. Biren and thus the meetings remained inconclusive.”

A news report in Imphal Free Press, too, quoted “highly reliable source from NPP” to state that Sangma had a closed door meeting “for several hours” with the NPP MLAs but it “was inconclusive”. Sangma is said to have visited Imphal at the request of Amit Shah. The duo – Sangma and Sarma – left Imphal around 10 pm on June 22 and also had a meeting with the chief minister during the day-long visit.

Meanwhile, NPP state unit chief T. Kipgen issued a statement accusing the BJP-led government of “never consulting” its allies before taking a major decision. “The authoritative style functioning of the present government is autocratic and undemocratic. Therefore, taking all the issues into account, my party finally decided to withdraw our support to the BJP government in the state,” the statement reportedly said.

The latest development from the state, according to sources, however, is that NPP MLAs are on their way to Delhi to have a meeting with the party’s national leadership to iron out the creases. The Wire has not been able independently confirm it, although the news agency PTI has also quoted its own sources as having said the same.

Sarma, on June 23, had told reporters at a press meet in Guwahati that “within two to three days a positive result will emerge (from Manipur).”

“The Manipur situation is under control. I will be going there once again and we will be talking to our MLAs. This will be resolved nicely. All discussions are taking place in a positive atmosphere and within two to three days, a positive result will emerge,” he reportedly said.

Sarma also said, “The situation will change since many people are disqualified. There will be major bypolls. Once the Speaker passes any order it cannot be revoked. The architecture of the government will be more or less the same; we will continue with the spirit of NEDA and NDA. We are going to work with a principle of friendship.”

State BJP chief Saikhom Tiken Singh told NDTV, “We agree that there is instability (but) in case of a floor test we will be able to gather the numbers.”

Former state health minister and NPP MLA L. Jayanthkumar had said that though Sangma had tried to convince them, “We have explained our position to him. We will not succumb to any pressure.”

Also read: Manipur Ex-CM Ibobi Among Those Raided by CBI For ‘Misappropriation of Funds’

Meanwhile, CBI team is all set to keep Congress’ master strategist Ibobi busy on June 24. The CBI had taken over the case last November at the behest of the Biren Singh government. Around that time, the CBI conducted raids at nine locations including at the residence of Ibobi. The allegation is, Ibobi, as the chairman of Manipur Development Society between June 2009 and July 2017, allegedly misappropriated government funds amounting to Rs 332 crore of the total budgetary allocation of Rs 518 crore along with top officials of the Society.

N. Biren had been a minister in the Ibobi Singh government before moving over to the BJP in 2016.

Manipur Ex-CM Ibobi Among Those Raided by CBI For ‘Misappropriation of Funds’

The CBI has registered the case on the request of the Centre, made through the state government.

New Delhi: CBI carried out searches at nine locations in three states on Friday in connection with alleged misappropriation of development funds of Rs 332 crore in Manipur, officials said.

The searches are underway in Aizawl, Imphal, and Gurgaon, the officials said.

Also read: Manipur CM Camping in Delhi to Underline His Govt’s Stance on Naga Accord

It is alleged that Okram Ibobi Singh, the then chairman of the Manipur Development Society (MDS), had conspired with others during his tenure from June 2009-July 2017 and misappropriated government funds worth approximately Rs 332 crore out of Rs 518 crore that was entrusted to them for the purpose of executing development work, according to the officials.

The CBI has registered the case on the request of the Manipur government, a request which was routed through the Centre.

Irom Sharmila and the Amorality of 90

Why is it only in Irom Sharmila’s case that we are told that hope must be roundly defeated? That we should grow up, get real, get with the times?

Irom Sharmila. Credit: PTI

When all that someone like Irom Sharmila has to offer is a moral presence, a vote for her could only have been a moral transaction – an exchange of faith, where hope was traded for hope. It is sad enough that few dared or wanted to keep this faith. The scale of Sharmila’s defeat, however, goes beyond to suggest a vindictive rejection of her politics. Perhaps we need to examine the consequences of long years of counterinsurgency: it can not only produce tremendous courage but also tremendous bitterness which eventually, however, ends up feeding on itself.

The normal problem

No one seriously expected Sharmila to win. Defeating a three-term chief minister like Okram Ibobi Singh was always going to be difficult – people point out that he has nurtured his constituency well, had money to spend and represented a Meitei claim to the integrity of Manipur against the Naga parties. But there is no such rationale that explains why the BJP candidate should have got 8,179 votes and even the Trinamool candidate 144 votes compared to Sharmila’s 90.

The argument that Meiteis, like everyone else, like their politicians dirty and their activists pure, is no doubt an obvious one, but it hardly flatters the political system or those who participate in it. The fundamental question remains: What does ‘representation’ mean? Why is it that those fighting for the rights of people are not seen as fit to represent them electorally? Why should people keep fighting for others to whom they owe no direct responsibility of birth, ethnicity or common circumstance? The question was posed most sharply after the AAP experiment in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when well-known activists like S.P. Udayakumar, leader of the anti-nuclear movement in Koodankulam and Medha Patkar and Alok Agarwal of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, lost their electoral deposits.

It is by now a commonplace that people want to vote for a winning party rather than ‘spoil’ their vote, and they want this party to accomplish things for them ‘within the system’. Elections are not about single issues like displacement, AFSPA or nuclear plants. MLAs – and often MPs too – are beset with requests to assist in the mundane problems of everyday living, like transfers, school admissions and electricity connections. Politicians complain that all their time is taken up in attending births, deaths and weddings in their constituency, something that most activists would not have time for. It is equally well understood that winning elections requires money, a degree of experience and booth management, media support and so on. On the other hand, as the winning side never tires of pointing out, ‘representation’ is ultimately about how successfully one can represent one’s vision to the people. The claim to have a vision is central to the public self-imagining of political parties and their members.

In Sharmila’s case, few would blame her for assuming that 16 years of sacrifice should count for something. If people can waste their votes by selling them for money (as they routinely do around India and also did in Thoubal), they could as well have ‘wasted’ their vote on her dream of a just and resurgent Manipur. The fact that no more than 90 people recognised this simple bargain is telling.

The extra element of rejection

As long as Sharmila was on fast, she was an icon for Manipuris (and many others). But when gods come down to earth, demand to get married or ask for votes, believers begin to panic. Now something more is expected of them than mere worship – in the absence of gods, they have to take responsibility for their own life.

True, Sharmila did not ask anyone when she began her fast. Equally true that without the support she got she might not have made it so long. Never mind that the support was not what it should have been – neither from her own people, nor civil society and the media at large, leave alone the coarsened, cynical state.

What is most worrying, however, is the expectation that she should have conducted a referendum among her supporters when choosing to end her fast. A fast to death, as with all suicides, ultimately has to be a decision sustainable in the innermost recesses of an individual soul – it is too big a step to decide for someone else. Simply because a fast has gone on for 16 years is no reason for others to feel that each moment is not a singular struggle, and that inertia somehow makes it less painful. That much of her support fell off after she ended her hunger strike raises the unhappy possibility that many of her ‘supporters’ would rather she had died so that they could then use her martyrdom against the Indian state. The question this raises, then, is whether in all these years, support for her was founded on a politics of bitterness rather than a politics of justice – a resentment which too quickly turned inwards on their own symbols.

The ‘underground’ – or UG – in whose name the Indian government accused her of acting, were always uneasy with Sharmila’s fast, claiming that her ‘democratic struggle’ whitewashed the reality of Indian colonialism and that the fight against AFSPA both predated and postdated and in every which way outflanked her fast. But even the most grudging person would have to concede that her fast gave the demand that AFSPA be repealed a publicity and moral legitimacy it would not have had otherwise. Her electoral defeat will only reinforce the idea that since AFSPA is not an issue that the people at large consider worth voting on, it is not worth debating either. The principle that an emergency law like AFSPA has no room in a democracy just got that much harder to defend.

Years of armed conflict have truly taken their toll on the state – corrupting everyone’s sense of themselves. The UG takes money from the government they oppose by taxing its employees, policemen shoot people in cold blood for money, there are endless blockades, drugs, a student population that is compelled to leave the state in order to get any education at all. The people of the hills are discriminated against, and the people of the plains feel their identity as a people is under threat. If the Nagas could vote for the BJP in the hope that the ‘framework agreement’ will translate into something meaningful, cobbling together ‘Christ for Nagaland’ with ‘Hindustan for Hindus’, this means that hope is willing to surmount the hurdles of realism. Why only then, in Sharmila’s case, are we told that hope must be roundly defeated? That we should grow up, get real, get with the times.

By voting the way they did, the constituents of Thoubal have posed a question not just to themselves but to all of us: are we willing to give idealism a chance or have we forgotten how to dream?

Nandini Sundar teaches sociology at Delhi University.

BJP-Led Coalition Government Takes Charge in Manipur

N. Biren Singh, a former Congress minister, becomes the 24th chief minister of Manipur.

N. Biren Singh being administered the oath of office by governor Najma Heptullah. Credit: ANI screengrab/Twitter

New Delhi: After days of uncertainty, Nongthombam Biren Singh took oath as Manipur’s 24th chief minister at the Raj Bhavan on March 15, the state’s first ever BJP-led government.

The other constituents of the newly sworn in government are the two partners of the NDA government at the Centre – the National People’s Party (NPP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) – and the BJP’s ally in Nagaland – the Naga People’s Front (NPF).

The BJP also got the much-needed support of a Congress MLA, Th. Shyamkumar, who won the assembly polls from the Andro constituency and defected to the BJP, to reach the required number of 31 to have a simple majority in the 60-member assembly. However, as per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution or the anti-defection law, any MLA who defects to another party stands to lose his seat. As per news reports, the lone All India Trinamool Congress MLA has also offered support to the BJP-led government.

Governor Najma Heptullah administered the oath of office to Biren and eight cabinet ministers, including Yumnam Joykumar as the deputy chief minister. Joykumar, who retired as the state director general of police in August 2013, later joined the BJP. However, in the run-up to the March 4 and 8 elections, he defected to the NPP after he was denied a BJP ticket. He won as an NPP candidate from the Uripok constituency.

The other cabinet ministers are Th. Biswajit, the BJP’s sole MLA in the last assembly, L. Jayantakumar, N. Koyisi and L. Haokip of NPP, Karan Shyam, the lone LJP MLA, NPF MLA Losie Dikho and Congress defector Th. Shyamkumar.

Ibobi Singh (middle) seen with Ram Madhav and Himanata Biswa Sarma at the oath taking ceremony in Imphal on March 15. Credit: Twitter

The March 15 oath taking ceremony also marked the end of the longest continuous rule by one chief minister in the state. The Congress’s Okram Ibobi Singh ran the state with an iron fist for 15 years. He was present when the new government was sworn in. Ibobi was spotted sitting next to Ram Madhav, the BJP national general secretary in charge of the northeast, and Himanta Biswa Sarma, the convener of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). He also congratulated Biren, his former cabinet colleague and close confidante. Biren, 56, who won the Heingang constituency as a BJP candidate, joined the party in October 2016 after he fell out with Ibobi Singh. Biren has been representing the constituency since 2002.

A former national level footballer while working for the Border Security Force, Biren went on to become a journalist with a morning vernacular daily, Naharolgi Thoudang. In 2000, he was arrested for publishing a statement made by the father of a social worker, Thounaojam Iboyaima, which allegedly encouraged the armed groups. The police had at that time reportedly said the statement published in the newspaper that Biren edited was “seditious and anti-national”.

On March 13, Biren was elected the BJP’s legislature party chief after a close fight with Th. Biswajit. On March 14, the governor invited Biren to form a BJP-led government even though the Congress was the single largest party with 28 seats – three short of simple majority. The BJP, which won 21 seats, managed to cobble together a government with support from the regional parties.

While the Congress contested the election by trying to garner the majority Meitei votes on ethnic lines, the BJP tried to turn the tide against it by raising issues of alleged corruption and misgovernance by the Ibobi government, promising voters a rule without “bandhs and blockades”. The economic blockade, called by the United Naga Council against the state government’s decision to bifurcate “Naga ancestral land” and carve out new districts since November 1, continues.

Interestingly, the March 15 swearing in ceremony also saw the NPF become a part of the Manipur government for the first time. The party, which contested the Manipur assembly polls for the first time in 2012, sent four MLAs to the house. In the 2017 elections, it fielded 15 candidates but yet again could win only four seats.

BJP and Allies Set to Form Government in Manipur

Governor Najma Heptullah invited the BJP to form a government in Manipur under N. Biren Singh, with the swearing in scheduled for March 15 afternoon.

N. Biren Singh after he was elected the leader of the BJP’s legislative party. Credit:PTI

New Delhi: Manipur governor Najma Heptullah has invited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the next government in the state.

The new cabinet, headed by N. Biren Singh, will take oath of office at the Raj Bhavan on March 15 at 1 pm, the governor said at a press meet in Imphal on March 14. She said she would like Biren Singh to take a floor test.

Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh resigned from the post of state chief minister on March 13 to facilitate formation of the next government.

Being the single largest party, the Congress staked a claim to form government on March 13. Heptullah, also a senior BJP leader, chose to call the BJP, which formally made the request to her after the Congress did. On the night of March 12, BJP MLAs, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma – the convener of BJP’s North East Democratic Alliance – submitted to her a list of 30 legislators from National People’s Party (NPP), Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) supporting it. While the LJP and the NPP are the BJP’s partners at the Centre, it has an alliance with NPF in Nagaland.

In the assembly elections in Manipur, while the Congress bagged 28 seats – three short of simple majority – the BJP won 21 seats. Both the NPP and NPF won four seats each while LJP bagged one seat. Besides, one seat was won by All India Trinamool Congress and one by an independent in the 60-member assembly.

On March 13, Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed the BJP had the support of 33 MLAs – two more than the majority mark.

Biren Singh, a former minister in the Congress government who defected to the BJP last October, was elected the BJP’s legislative party chief on March 13. Before joining politics, he was a national football player and a journalist.

As per sources, Th. Biswajit Singh, who joined the party in 2015 from the All India Trinamool Congress, and was the BJP’s lone MLA in the last assembly, will be the deputy chief minister. The post of home minister would likely go to NPP leader Yumnam Joykumar, the sources said.

Joykumar, who served as the former director general of police at a time when hundreds of extra-judicial killings allegedly took place in the state under the Congress regime, joined the BJP, only leave to it in the run up to the assembly polls after he was denied a ticket from the Uripok constituency. He later won from the constituency as an NPP candidate.

As per local media reports, the NPF – which was the first to offer support to the BJP soon after the results were announced – has demanded a cabinet ministerial berth for its MLA L. Dikho, besides the posts of parliamentary secretaries to three other MLAs.

March 15 would bring an end to the 15-year-rule of Ibobi Singh, the longest continuous rule by a chief minister the state saw after independence.

Why the Modi Wave Has Not Drowned the BJP’s Opponents

While BJP may have swept the elections, data shows that the vote-share of other parties have actually increased since 2014.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L), Harish Rawat (Top), Akhilesh Yadav (Middle) and Mayawati (Bottom)

While much is being read into the results of the assembly elections in the five states, a look at the sheer number of votes polled shows a pattern where some of the performance of parties like the BSP, SP, AAP and even the Congress, was not as disappointing as far as their appeal among their supporters went. In fact all these parties significantly improved on the votes they have polled in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Improving numbers

The Aam Aadmi Party, which came second in Punjab in terms of seats – despite being deemed an outright favourite in an opinion poll early in 2016 – actually got 2,89,603 votes more than it did in the state in 2014, when it surprised everyone by winning four of the 13 Lok Sabha seats. And while this was a different election, fought on different issues and meant to elect a different kind of government, the party, whose obituary has been written by various political pundits and analysts, is certainly nowhere near dead, if the sheer number of supporters is anything to go by.

The same holds true for the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh. Some have written that Mayawati’s party has lost its winning touch. But what they are forgetting is that this party has not only polled 22% votes in the state, it has also polled over 32 lakh more votes in the state this time. What should not be forgotten is that BJP is riding a Modi wave, like it did in 2014. But as former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah recently tweeted – drawing a great deal of flak – the need is to start planning for 2024. What went unsaid was that Modi will not be there for BJP always, and parties like the BSP and AAP, which should stand their ground in the interim, still have a future before them.

The Modi wave also seems to have undone all the efforts of Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat to retain his seat against the tide. While BJP ended up sweeping the state, winning 56 seats in a 70-seat assembly (with the result of one seat yet to be declared due to a re-poll), the data revealed that the Congress under Rawat had improved its position in the state. The party polled 1,71,224 votes more than it did in 2014. Rawat, in-fact, had become the chief minister only on January 2015 after the party had replaced Vijay Bahuguna over allegations of inefficient administration and corruption.

For Rawat, even this should be a major victory as he almost single-handedly tried to negate the impact of the Modi wave, which in the final analysis, proved too much for him in the absence of strong support from the central leadership.

Polarisation of voters

For the BJP, retaining its voters in Uttar Pradesh was crucial. The party had swept the state in 2014, winning 71 of the 80 seats with its ally, the Apna Dal, bagging two, and it was essential for it to see that the Modi magic continued. A look at the actual votes polled shows that while 312 seats of the 403, won by the BJP – with another 13 from its allies – is being seen as historic, what the party succeeded at was to hold on to a majority of those voters who had voted in the name of Modi in 2014.

In real terms, the BJP polled a little over 3.44 crore votes in the assembly elections which was actually just 84,185 votes more than what the party had got in the state in 2014. So, in the final analysis, it is clear that rather than a large number of new voters joining the BJP in the state, the main effect of Modi campaigning extensively – and also the vitriolic campaign around kabristan-shamshan issue – had almost the exact impact as the party had managed in 2014 when the Muzaffarnagar riots had left the state highly polarised.

That the BJP managed to retain a large number of votes in Uttar Pradesh also meant that the Samajwadi Party under Akhilesh Yadav was not able to put up the kind of fight that it was expected to, considering that it had won 224 seats in 2012. And like Rawat, Yadav was campaigning around his own ‘clean image’ and ‘good performance’. Though the SP managed to get 9.34 lakh more votes in comparison to 2014 – despite leaving 98 seats for its ally, the Congress – the surge in favour of the BJP proved to be too much for it.

Forming governments

While the governments in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh will be formed through the front door with a clear verdict in each, in Goa and Manipur, which had hung verdicts, the governments are being formed with the help of smaller parties and independents.

In Goa, while the BJP is mustering up a majority with Manohar Parikkar at the helm, on the ground it had a higher vote-share of 32.5% as against 28.4% of the Congress. The fact remains that of the five states, it is here that the saffron party has witnessed its worst decline in actual popularity with those voting for it actually dropping by nearly 1.40 lakh. In the same period, Congress votes in the state have actually increased by 38,992.

Similarly, the BJP has been reasoning that in Manipur the three-time Congress chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh had no business seeking a return to power as people have voted against his government. Consequently, Congress’s tally, at 28, in the 60-member assembly has dropped below the half way mark. While by that yardstick and logic, the BJP should have desisted from forming a government in Goa, what is also interesting to note is that in Manipur, the Congress has managed to largely hold on to its own despite a marked increase in BJP’s vote share from 11.98% in 2014 to 36.3% this year. Its own votes only declined by 7,003 in the entire state but still it has lost power.

As Manipur Looks Set for a Hung Assembly, BJP Appears at an Advantage

The results point to the success of BJP’s election “war room” – the first of its kind in the state – led by Harvard-educated public policy expert Rajat Sethi.

The results point to the success of the BJP’s election “war room” – the first of its kind in the state – led by Harvard-educated public policy expert Rajat Sethi.

A vendor sells water-guns with photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of Holi in Guwahati on Saturday. Credit: PTI

New Delhi: After a closely-contested, two-phase election in Manipur, the state is headed towards a hung assembly. While the incumbent Congress has bagged 28 seats, its chief opponent, the BJP surprised poll observers by pocketing 21 seats.

Congress has come up to be the single largest party, though short of three seats to have a simple majority.

As per the Election Commission website, while an independent candidate and the All India Trinamool Congress won one seat each, NDA allies Lok Janshakti Party and the National People’s Party won one and four seats respectively. Yet another strong regional party, the Naga People’s Front (NPF), which contested 15 seats in the hill districts, bagged four seats. Though NPF contested against BJP candidates in Manipur, it has an alliance with the BJP in Nagaland since 2003.

Though the governor and BJP leader Najma Heptullah is yet to invite any party to form a government, BJP national secretary in charge of the northeast, Ram Madhav, told reporters in Imphal after the results, “We will try and form the government with support from smaller parties.” Addressing a press meet in New Delhi, BJP president Amit Shah also spoke on the same lines.

Congress president T.N. Haokip also claims that Congress will form a government with “secular regional parties”.

The March 11 performance of the BJP is certainly impressive, considering its vote share rose from a minuscule 2% in the 2012 assembly polls to a whopping 36.2% this year. While the Congress fought 59 seats, the BJP fielded candidates in all 60 constituencies.

The results point to the success of the BJP’s election “war room” – the first of its kind in the state – led by Harvard-educated public policy expert Rajat Sethi. Sethi camped in an Imphal hotel to monitor Congress’s strong poll strategy, woven around ethnic lines. He, along with Ram Madhav and North East Development Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma, rolled out a calibrated attack on the Congress government based on ground feedback from RSS workers in the electorally-crucial valley districts, home to most of the state’s majority community, the Meiteis, who hold sway over 40 of the 60 assembly seats.

The BJP strategy hinged more on the anti-incumbency of the 15-year-old Okram Ibobi Singh government and allegations of corruption and misgovernance causing “bandhs and blockade”, besides the promise of delivering development, Narendra Modi style.

The Congress succeeded in reversing the growing support for the BJP among the Meiteis since last November after the United Naga Council (UNC) clamped an economic blockade on the two arterial national highways against the state government’s decision to carve out new districts. However, the BJP tried to lift the electoral game by sending senior national leaders including home minister Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and, most importantly, Modi, to campaign in different parts of the state. Without a chief ministerial candidate, the state BJP projected Modi and his development agenda for the northeast as the party’s face to seek votes. The party also showcased its two other chief ministers in the northeast – Sarbananda Sonowal and Pema Khandu – in rallies.

Modi also mentioned the core issue that took away a huge chunk of Meitei voters from the party – the Framework Agreement signed between the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) and the central government over a year and a half ago and kept “secret” since. Modi reiterated in the rally that his party would never compromise with Manipur’s territorial integrity to bring the Naga Accord. He, however, stressed more on allegations of corruption against the Congress government and promised to bring development that Ibobi brought to the people in 15 years “in just 15 months”.

It now remains to be seen whether the BJP will be able to gather 31 seats to form a government that could deliver on Modi’s electoral promises.

In Cruel World of Elections, 16 Years of Struggle and Only 90 Votes for Irom Sharmila

More people in the constituency pressed on NOTA than voted for the iconic campaigner against the Armed Forces (Special powers) Act

Irom Sharmila. Credit: PTI

New Delhi: The Manipur assembly elections were special this year because human rights activist Irom Sharmila was contesting after 16 years of struggle and hunger strike against the Armed Forces (Special Protection) Act. When she ended her hunger strike in 2016, she announced that she wanted to repeal the law by contesting and winning in the state elections.

But that’s far from what has happened; the people of Manipur preferred the established pattern of politics in the state in which big parties with large organisational heft and financial resources count for more than individuals, no matter how iconic or well-intentioned. Sharmila added to the symbolism of her candidature by avoiding an easier seat and contesting instead from the Thoubal assembly constituency against chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh. In the end, she got only 90 votes. In fact, there were more people who pressed the button for NOTA on this seat – 143 – than those who voted for her.

Ibobi won the seat after defeating BJP candidate L. Basant Singh by 10,400 votes. He received 18,649 and the BJP candidate 8,179.

The All India Trinamool Congress candidate on the seat, Leishangthem Suresh Singh, received 144 votes. Independent candidate Akoijam Manglemjao Singh got 66, putting Sharmila at the the fourth position on the seat.

Sharmila faced several hurdles, including the dissatisfaction of some of her supporters, when she decided to end her hunger strike.

“At least 90 people had some morality and some hope,” sociologist Nandini Sundar tweeted.

Listen: Why Irom Sharmila won just 90 votes – Podcast in Hindi with sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty and Amanat Khullar, who covered the Manipur elections for The Wire.

Manipur Poll Result Throws Up Some Surprise Wins and Losses

Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh won for the fourth time, while his contender, Irom Chanu Sharmila, and other members of her recently launched party, faced tough losses.

Okram Ibobi Singh. Credit: PTI

New Delhi: Even as the final results of the assembly elections in Manipur held in two phases on March 4 and March 8 continue to trickle in, the people’s mandate has already led to a few surprise wins and losses in the state.

The chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh won for the fourth time from Thoubal by a whopping 18,649 votes – and may join Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling as one of the longest serving chief ministers, if his party succeeds to form the next government. Also, his deputy, Gaikhangam Gangmei, won the Nungba seat, defeating BJP contender Adim Pamei. The Congress president T.N. Haokip also managed to hold on to the Saikot seat.

Yet another Congress stalwart-turned-National People’s Party candidate from Churachandpur, Phungzathang Tonsing, lost to the BJP’s V. Hangkhanlian, indicating that the people of Churachandpur town, which saw widespread violence in 2015 that led to the death of nine young people, have not forgiven Tonsing for not quitting the party at the time.

Congress MLA Manga Vaiphei, whose house was burnt by protesters after three controversial bills were passed by the Congress government on August 31, 2015, lost to BJP’s T.T. Haokip in Henglep.

However, another Congress MLA whose house in Churachandpur was also burnt in that violence, V. Valte, won the Thanlon seat as a BJP candidate.

Interestingly, two of the prominent BJP faces in the state, Th. Chaoba Singh, the former party president, and spokesperson M. Asni Kumar, have lost the contest. This raises an important question: who will be the BJP’s chief minister if the party manages to cobble up the magic number of 31 to form the next government. Will it be the party’s lone MLA, Th. Biswajit Singh?

In the run-up to the polls, party president Bhabananda Singh had told The Wire, “I am not a contender for the CM’s post.”

BJP state party general secretary and the sole MLA Th. Biswajit Singh. Credit: Amanat Khullar

Some of the other important losses for the BJP in the hills were of Sword Vashum from the Chingai seat, Somatai Shaiza from Ukhrul, Francis Ngajokpa from the Tadubi seat, Z. Kikhonbou Newmai from the Tamei seat, for which senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh specially campaigned in the constituency.

Irom Sharmila. Credit: Akhil Kumar

Another big loss was of the political party that human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila launched just months ago to contest these elections – the Peoples Resurgence and Justice Party. None of the three candidates, including Sharmila, managed to win a seat on March 11.