Making a beeline for Delhi, again A sense of deja vu

The sense of deja vu is overwhelming. It was not so long back, meaning after Manipur went up in flames in the evening of May 3, 2023, that a number of BJP Ministers and MLAs made a beeline for New Delhi seeking a darshan with the Central leaders, particularly the Prime Minister. What happened then is there for everyone to see and digest and fast forward to October of 2025 and a number of BJP MLAs have already reached New Delhi. Then it was to help bring Manipur back to the road of normalcy and now it is more or less about the perceived need to restore the popularly elected Government. Remember the BJP has 32 MLAs excluding those who switched from the JD (U). Back then all the trips to Delhi  wounded up without an audience with the Prime Minister with some managing a meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. There is also nothing to indicate that the Prime Minister met the BJP MLAs during his short stay here when he visited Manipur on September 13 this year. Other than once or twice when the elected BJP Ministers and MLAs were summoned, this time there is no report of the BJP MLAs having secured an appointment with either the Prime Minister or with the Home Minister. A point well known and perhaps it was only MLA from Andro Assembly Constituency Th Shyam-kumar who spelt out his stand rather clearly with the line, ‘If the Central leaders refuse to grant an audience, then I will resign.’ Obvious that the BJP MLAs who are presently in Delhi went there without obtaining any appointment and it is against this background that most of the BJP MLAs have reached Delhi. Anything may happen, but the background against which the BJP MLAs have proceeded to Delhi should not be forgotten. It also stands that in raising the need to bring back the popularly elected Government, it would be expected for the BJP MLAs to have a sort of a roadmap to take Manipur to the path of normalcy. Other than stressing on the need for a democracy to have an elected Government in place, what other points do the BJP MLAs have in mind that they can lay before Delhi ? Nothing has been laid out, or at least the people do not seem to know. But this is a point which Manipur deserves to know and if the BJP MLAs have any proposal that may help take Manipur to the path of normalcy, then it would help if the same is spelt out for public consumption. It also stands that Manipur is set to go for Assembly polls in the early part of 2027 and it would not be a pretty situation for the BJP MLAs to go back to the people asking for votes if the present arrangement continues.
Whether a popular Government returns and when depends on the wisdom of the Centre, but the question of concern is whether the return of a popular Government would make things better. Or whether the return of a popularly elected Government would pave the way for better administration, better law and order. For nearly two years the popularly elected Government was not able to do much to take Manipur to the road of normalcy and would it be able to now ? A sure shot answer will be hard to come by, but what Manipur needs right now is normalcy, normalcy as understood universally not in the guns going silent alone. Moreover and this is important, have the BJP MLAs, particularly those who are Delhi, been able to project anyone as the next CM ? If yes then what is stopping them from projecting the person who can come in the place of the former Chief Minister ? Or is it going to be a case of the BJP MLAs rallying around the former Chief Minister ? Either way, it would help if the BJP MLAs can make their stand known to the people or will they continue to stick to the stand, ‘We leave it to the Centre to name the next Chief Minister and we are ready the accept such a decision ?’ At the moment most of the BJP MLAs are in Delhi and while no appointments have been finalised with any of the Central leaders, one hopes they return with some solid answers and not some vague assurance from the Central leaders. Solid answers, this is what is needed.