The ruling BJP is set to win six seats unopposed in Arunachal Pradesh, where the assembly elections will be held alongside the Lok Sabha polls on April 19. The list of candidates who face no opponents in their respective constituencies includes the state’s Chief Minister Pema Khandu.
It is important to note that this will not be the first time a party will be winning constituencies unopposed in the 60-seat assembly. The state has a tradition of candidates winning seats unopposed. This dates back to the first assembly elections of 1978 when the Janata Party secured two seats uncontested. Since then, the state has witnessed this tradition in every assembly election, with the only exception being the 1995 state assembly elections when no candidate was elected uncontested. The tradition reached its peak in the 2014 state elections when the ruling Congress won 11 seats uncontested. At that time, the sitting chief minister, Nabam Tuki, also won unopposed from the Sagalee seat.
At present, the ruling party winning six seats unopposed indicates a lack of competition in the state and suggests a smooth sailing for them. However, it also reflects the concerning state of democracy in the region. Democracy thrives on electoral contests that provide voters with the choice to select their preferred candidate.
A lack of contest denies voters the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. The responsibility for this lies with the Opposition parties, particularly the Congress, which has failed to fulfil its duty as the main opposition party in the state. The Congress cannot justify its inaction by citing the tradition of uncontested wins, especially considering that this tradition was broken in the 1995 state elections.
Despite critical issues, like the cash-for-jobs scam in the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission against the BJP government, the Congress has failed to hold the government accountable and has also neglected to strengthen its organisational presence on the ground. By announcing candidates for only 34 out of 60 seats, the Congress has already conceded that it is not in a position to come to power in the northeastern state. Additionally, the party had to replace its candidate in the Palin (ST) seat after the initial candidate joined the BJP, which is undoubtedly embarrassing for the already weakened party.
This week, the BJP omitted its sitting MP and Union Minister of State, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, from the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha constituency and instead nominated the state’s Education and Law Minister, Thounamjam Basanta Kumar Singh. Earlier, there was speculation that the BJP high command might nominate Chief Minister N Biren Singh from the seat.
However, reports suggest that he was not eager to contest and instead proposed the names of his two confidantes: party MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh, who also happens to be his son-in-law, and party's Rajya Sabha MP Leishamba Sanajaoba, who belongs to the royal family of ancient Manipur. Although neither of his proposed confidantes received the ticket, Singh's significance within the party can be inferred from the fact that the party did not nominate Union Minister of State Ranjan Singh. It is worth mentioning that Ranjan Singh had criticized the Biren Singh-led government for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state following the ethnic violence that occurred in May last year.
In the last election, the BJP won this seat from Congress by a narrow margin of 2.34% of votes. Now, following the ethnic violence, the ruling party finds itself in a challenging position. Hence, it has fielded a heavyweight candidate like Basanta Singh, who holds crucial portfolios in the state cabinet. Although there are six candidates in this Meitei-dominated constituency, the contest will likely be quadrangular.
Apart from Basanta, Congress's Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, a well-known Meitei academician, RPI(A)'s Maheshwar Thounaoujam, a young candidate popular among Meiteis, and independent candidate Somendra Singh, who the Manipur People's Party supports are in the fray. Somendra, a Manipuri actor, had also contested the last elections as an independent candidate and received 10.75% of the votes.
After Tripura royal Pradyot Debbarma's TIPRA Motha signed the tripartite accord with the Centre and the state government and subsequently joined the BJP-led NDA, voices of dissent are rising among the tribals in the hills of the northeastern state. Amid this, a new regional party — the Statehood Demand Committee Tripura — has emerged. The party has nominated candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats — Ramendra Reang from Tripura West and Krishnamohan Jamatia from Tripura East.
This week, the party’s chairman, Aghore Debbarma, slammed both the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, another ally of the BJP, and Motha for deceiving people in the name of Tipraland and Greater Tipraland, respectively. He also stated that Pradyot never genuinely advocated for Greater Tipraland. Debbarma emphasised that his party's demand is for a separate Tipraland.
Regional tribal parties have often used emotional slogans like Tipraland and Greater Tipraland to garner tribal votes, despite being aware that the state cannot be divided due to its demographic structure. Nevertheless, hill-based regional parties continue to raise such emotionally charged, impractical slogans to attract tribal votes. While parties like IPFT and TIPRA Motha have experienced political success through such slogans, there are also parties like IPFT (Tipraha) and Tipraland State Party that have not been successful.
The Statehood Demand Committee Tripura is the latest addition to the list of regional parties in the hills of Tripura. However, it is essential to recognize that exploiting such emotionally charged, impractical demands repeatedly to attract tribal voters is unsustainable.
'Unopposed Elections': 4-Decade-Old Tradition In Arunachal A Cause Of Concern For Democracy
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30.03.2024
The ruling BJP is set to win six seats unopposed in Arunachal Pradesh, where the assembly elections will be held alongside the Lok Sabha polls on April 19. The list of candidates who face no opponents in their respective constituencies includes the state’s Chief Minister Pema Khandu.
It is important to note that this will not be the first time a party will be winning constituencies unopposed in the 60-seat assembly. The state has a tradition of candidates winning seats unopposed. This dates back to the first assembly elections of 1978 when the Janata Party secured two seats uncontested. Since then, the state has witnessed this tradition in every assembly election, with the only exception being the 1995 state assembly elections when no candidate was elected uncontested. The tradition reached its peak in the 2014 state elections when the ruling Congress won 11 seats uncontested. At that time, the sitting chief minister, Nabam Tuki, also won unopposed from the Sagalee seat.
At present, the ruling party winning six seats unopposed indicates a lack of competition in the state and suggests a smooth sailing for them. However, it also reflects the concerning state of democracy in the region. Democracy thrives on electoral contests that provide voters with the choice to select their preferred candidate.
A lack of contest denies voters the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. The responsibility for this lies with the Opposition parties,........
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