The BJP won Manipur in 2017 beginning its journey from the late 1980s when there was no political presence of the party in the state. The reason for its victory was not just its ideology, but also because it has a government at the centre.
It took 15 years for the BJP to gain its first seat in the State Assembly of Manipur. Till 2017, the party had a maximum of 6 MLAs in the Assembly. However, 2017 brought a new chapter in the Party’s history when it won 21 seats in the 60 member Assembly.
The Candidates From TMC and Congress-
Interestingly, Congress won 28 seats in 2017. But, BJP went on to form the government instead of Congress. At that time, many BJP Candidates in Manipur were former TMC or Congress members.
Now, the party has too many candidates from different political parties which have created confusion among authorities. For this reason, the party took a lot of time to announce its candidates for the 2022 polls.
The Agitated Party Stalwarts:
There are a lot of BJP party workers who worked hard for the Party after the previous elections in the hope to get a ticket. Also, BJP has a promising group of candidates who contested the previous election. However, BJP left them at bay and gave tickets to 11 former Congress MLAs who later joined BJP. This situation has agitated the public at large causing anger.
Party Members Changing Strides:
There is a game of shift going on in the constituencies of the state. In Moirang, the incumbent BJP MLA and a former IAS officer have been left aside giving tickets to a former Congress MLA and Minister.
The BJP Stalwarts who have occupied party positions and other new faces working hard for the Party since the last 5 years have been kept aside. Instead, the party has given tickets to leaders who have come from other parties.
It’s not just about Congress MLAs coming into BJP. Even the only TMC MLA who supported Congress last year in its effort to overthrow the BJP government last year is a BJP candidate now. Surprisingly, an LJP member who joined the BJP ten days before the BJP announced the list has been given a ticket.
What is the significance of this Discontent?
Keeping a note of all the happenings, outages, and disappointments on ticket distribution can be a cause for swinging votes in the constituencies. The swinging vote bank, not aligned to a particular party can change its choices.
The National People’s Party and Janata Dal (U) are taking advantage of the situation by inviting the candidates who failed to get a BJP ticket. Congress has taken a backseat in the state.
Congress Has Taken A Step Back In The State-
It is strange to see that Congress, ardently campaigning in a full swing in other states has taken a backseat in Manipur against BJP. Despite Congress emerging as the single largest party in the 2017 polls and being unable to form the government, it has taken a step back in the state for the 2022 polls.
Neither the national leaders of the Party has made any attempt to reach the Stalwarts who didn’t get a BJP ticket. It’s completely different from the Congress approach in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, and Uttarakhand.
Summing up,
A party that formed the government in Manipur, had begun its struggle by waiting to secure a single seat for 15 years. Presently, it has given tickets to the MLAs joining BJP from other parties at the cost of its members working hard for the Party for the last 5 years. This step is sure to bring discontent among the previous leaders who have been left out, impacting the state politics and BJP’s vote bank. It will be important to see whether the Voters will support this decision of the Party or not!
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