Wither the MPP? (December 17)

It is rather tragic that the man who has been synonymous with the MPP and rightly regarded for long as the lone man keeping the flag flying of the oldest regional political party in Manipur should now find himself caught in the middle of a storm and being accused by comrades in arms of leading the party towards doom. 

To any one remotely aware of the political development and situation in the State, Okram Joy Singh's name will be automatically linked to the MPP and this has not come about just because he is the current president of the party but rather for his principled stand through the years. If there ever is a hall of fame in the State Assembly then Joy's name will surely figure in the list not for anything substantial he did for the development of the State but for refusing to be tempted by the power game and change of political loyalties for which his colleagues and political leaders of the State have earned notoriety. 

Through thick and thin Joy has been with the MPP ever since he stepped into the topsy-turvy world of politics. The lure of ministerial perks and occupying the seats of power has never been the driving force behind the persona of Joy. Whether he is in the opposition or on the treasury bench, Joy was never questioned about his commitment to the MPP. 

The 7th Assembly perhaps illustrated this point effectively. Of the four candidates who made it to the Assembly on the MPP ticket, three switched to the ruling MSCP led United Front Government. Only Joy was left holding aloft the flag of the MPP and for the man who had sweated it out for the party the treachery of his mates must have surely stung.

However despite all the commitment shown by Joy to the stated goals and aspirations of the MPP, the simmering discontent within the MPP, as disclosed by some of the party workers and Working Committee members, suggest that not everything is right with the style of functioning of the MPP president at the moment. 

To a large section of the people, the MPP appears to have lost its sheen. In the last Assembly election, the party struck up a deal with its former arch rival, Congress, and formed the Secular Democratic Front. That the alliance was a dismal flop was testified once the election results started trickling in. May be that was one of the first mistakes committed by the think tank of the MPP. For a party, which was formed and nourished on anti-Cong sentiments, the sudden turn around of the party must have left the voters and the grass root workers confused. 

Secondly the MPP lost its grip - in the hill areas a long time back. In the 7th Assembly election the party was unable to nominate even a single prominent personality in the hill constituencies, not to mention its failure to return a single candidate from these constituencies. 

This is not to say that the epitaph of the MPP has been written or will be written in the near future but the writing on the wall is ominously clear and the sooner Joy and MPP's collective leadership realize this the better it would be. We are not only talking about the fate and standing of Okram Joy Singh but about the status of the oldest regional political party in the State.

(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)

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