Koijam Logjam

THE Samata Party and the bjp may get a breathing spell in which to sort out their differences, with Manipur governor Ved Marwah having recommended President's rule in the northeastern state. The hope is it will not only steady the political tumult in the state but also allow the alliance partners time to effect a compromise.

Marwah's move comes 10 days after the three-month-old Samata-led Radhabinod Koijam ministry was ousted, with 24 of the 26 bjp mlas voting against it. The fall of Koijam had brought Samata and bjp in confrontation at the Centre, with the former charging the bjp with betrayal. It had even threatened to withdraw from the nda.

Worried by the threat, the bjp issued express orders to its mlas not to stake a claim to form a new government or even to participate in any dispensation under other parties. This effectively ended the hopes of the bjp mlas, 20 of whom had defected to the party, just to be in power.

Samata had accused the bjp central leadership of having orchestrated the toppling game, refusing to buy the contention that it had no control over its own mlas. The bjp is helpless to some extent, as its mlas have threatened defection if Koijam is reinstalled.

Under the circumstances, a brief spell of President's rule suits almost everyone. The convenor of the Koijam-led People's Front, O. Joy Singh, said: "Central rule is the only way at this juncture to clear the political muddle." He said the assembly ought to be kept under suspended animation to find a way to instal a stable government. The Radhabinod Koijam faction and the bjp are both hoping they will cobble together another combination to regain power.

The lone Congress mla and former chief minister, Rishang Keishing, charged both Samata and the bjp with encouraging defections and creating political chaos in Manipur. "The only alternative now is to have fresh elections," he says.

Defection is part and parcel of Manipur politics. Allies become enemies overnight and sworn rivals join hands merely to share power. Labels are irrelevant. As a political observer says: "Ideology has no place in Manipur as long as the end (of achieving power) is met. All means are justified".

In the current 60-member Manipur assembly elected in February 2000, bjp and Samata had seven mlas between them. The Congress had 12 legislators and the single-largest party was the Manipur State Congress Party (mscp), led by W. Nipamacha Singh, with 23 mlas. Nipamacha Singh duly formed a government with the support of smaller parties like the Federal Party of Manipur and independents.

In less than a year, Nipamacha Singh was ousted by Koijam, who led 11 of the 12 Congress mlas into Samata. Simultaneously, the mscp split and 20 mlas joined the bjp, taking the party's strength to 26. But Koijam had not accounted for the ambitions of Speaker S. Dhananjay Singh, who wanted to be CM himself. Dhananjay started playing his own games within three months of Koijam assuming power and instigated the bjp to pull the rug from under his ministry.

Traditionally, Manipur assembly speakers have played a significant role in government formation. In the mid-'90s, it was H. Borobabu Singh who effected splits in smaller parties and tried to claim power. Nipamacha, incidentally, was a speaker before he became CM. Dhananjay then was only following in his predecessors' footsteps.

In fact, he tried the same trick as Nipamacha. He led a team of 33 mlas, including 26 from the bjp, to New Delhi to put pressure on the central leadership to allow the formation of a new government. When he failed to have his way, he came back to Imphal and staked claim on his own.

On May 28 and 29, Marwah had to contend with two claimants to the chief ministerial chair. Apart from Dhananjay, mscp mla Hemanta Singh also wrote to the governor, staking his claim to form the government. The governor did not react to either claim, except for asking Dhananjay to resign from the post of speaker before formally staking a claim. When the numbers did not add up, both Dhananjay and Hemanta Singh withdrew from the race, leaving Marwah with no option but to recommend President's rule. And that in short was how the cookie crumbled in Manipur.