Thoubal: Former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh has expressed confidence that the Congress will emerge as the single largest party in Manipur after the upcoming assembly elections, but added that it was open to allying with “like-minded” parties like the National People’s Party (NPP) in case it falls short of numbers.
The NPP, which is headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, is part of the present Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, led by CM N. Biren Singh, in the state. The NPP and BJP are also allies in the Sangma-led government in Meghalaya. However, the two parties are contesting this year’s assembly polls separately amid strains in the alliance.
In an interview with ThePrint on the sidelines of a Congress rally in Wangkhem, a party bastion in Manipur’s Thoubal district, Wednesday, Ibobi confirmed that talks are ongoing with the NPP.
“We hope that Congress will get an absolute majority. In the event we are short by a few numbers, we are open to allying with like-minded parties like the NPP,” he added.
The three-time CM also claimed that the BJP had no “foothold” in the hill areas: “See, the people of Manipur in one sense are really fed up of the BJP’s five-year rule, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji. So, this time there’s the sense that Congress will form the government.”
On party defectors, he said “the people will teach them a lesson”.
The Congress has fielded candidates in 54 of the 60 assembly seats in the state that will go to polls in two phases on 28 February and 5 March. The results will be announced on 10 March. Besides the Congress, BJP and NPP, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) is also in the fray this election.
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‘BJP has no foothold in the hills’
About the BJP, Ibobi claimed that despite all the “publicity” about its schemes, “nothing has translated on the ground”.
“So there is no response from the people of Manipur for this particular reason. It’s not just here, it’s in most constituencies,” he added.
“Even in the hills, the BJP doesn’t have a foothold at all. The people of Manipur and particularly in the hill areas will vote Congress, or NPP or some local party,” said Ibobi.
There is much speculation about a likely post-poll alliance between the NPP and the Congress. The BJP and the NPP are contesting this election alone amid talks of their partnership having run into choppy waters over the last five years.
Deputy Chief Minister and NPP leader Y. Joykumar Singh had told ThePrint Thursday that the Biren Singh government would “curtail their power”.
“I, a deputy CM, was also without a portfolio, for an entire year,” Joykumar Singh had said.
Earlier this month, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said during his visit to the state that the BJP will form government in Manipur on its own and will not require support from any party.
Earlier this week, NPP president and Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma remarked in an interview with ThePrint that his party’s alliance with the BJP in Manipur had been “very, very challenging”.
However, BJP’s state in-charge Bhupender Yadav refuted talk of trouble with allies.
“No, that is not the right deduction. Over five years, we worked hard and earned people’s goodwill, so we decided to go it alone. But our relationship with our allies hasn’t been impacted,” he told ThePrint.
‘Congress defectors are nowhere now’
In the 2017 assembly elections, the Congress, which had remained in power in the state from 2002 till 2012, had emerged as the single-largest party with 28 seats.
However, the BJP, with 21 seats, still managed to clinch power by stitching together an alliance with the NPP, the NPF, and the Lok Janshakti Party.
Right after the elections, the state Congress was wracked by defections, which continued till recently. Of its 28 legislators, only 13 remain.
BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi have consistently hit out at the Congress, claiming that it has been unable to understand the northeast.
Asked to comment on claims that the Congress is struggling to hold fort in the state, Ibobi said: “Those people who are defectors, they are nowhere now. Many could not win the ticket. People know this. People will teach them a lesson.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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