High Stakes Balancing Act

At a time when the world, including India, is grappling with the novel coronavirus, a political drama has erupted in Manipur state with three members of legislative assembly belonging to the ruling BJP resigning from the party and joining their arch rival Congress. Giving the final blow, six more MLAs from alliance parties – four from the National People’s Party (NPP), and one each from Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Independent – also withdrew support to the coalition government on June 17 evening, reducing the incumbent N Biren Singh government to a minority.

The political crisis in the state started right on the day of election results declaration in 2017 with Congress, which emerged as the single largest party with 28 victorious candidates in the 60-member assembly, losing eight of its legislators to the BJP which formed the government with support from NPP (4), NPF (4), LJP (1), TMC (1) and Independent (1). The coalition survived for three years but not without internal issues with dissatisfaction among the lawmakers over distribution of portfolios apparent. The turmoil in the coalition was evident when deputy chief minister Y Joykumar Singh of NPP skipped the recent induction ceremony of NPF MLA Awangbou Newmai into the Cabinet. Biren Singh stripped of all portfolios from Joykumar Singh in April this year over controversy about rice pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic. The move along with disappointment from among the party members has led to the latest fallout in the coalition. The BJP and its allies are now reduced to 23 MLAs after the deduction of eight Congress-defected legislators who have been barred from entering the assembly by the court. The Congress has now formed an alliance called Secular Progressive Front (SPF) with NPP and has support from TMC and Independent MLAs. The new alliance has moved a no-confidence motion against Biren Singh-led government and urged the Governor to call a special assembly session for the floor test.

Whether or not the governor will call for floor test and the Congress once again claim power in the state of Manipur is to be seen, but the new political development will affect at least two events: the election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state on June 19 and the fight against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The leaders of the ruling parties should have solved the internal differences and averted the political crisis considering the health crisis the world is currently facing. It is not easy to hold political parties with different ideologies together, and it is even tougher when they are not pre-poll allies, but compromises and sacrifices are vital if it will benefit the people and during crisis. It would also be wise on the part of the opposition party to support the government rather than attempt to topple it in a time of crisis such as this. For the people, containing community spread of the contagious disease is what they want and need at the moment. The stakes are high as a little loophole while handling the pandemic can cost everyone dearly. So, the governor of the state has two crucial tasks at hand: to solve the current political crisis at the earliest in view of the current situation and to ensure that the fight against coronavirus is not disrupted by the political commotion.