Third time's the charm? Ibobi Singh emerges victorious again in Manipur elections

On a day Congress party lost ground in four states, Okram Ibobi Singh, despite retaining his hold on the chief minister’s chair in Manipur received no plaudits, at least not in public. Ibobi Singh, who has been in charge of Manipur for a decade now, has survived infighting, violent agitations, ethnic conflicts, fake encounters and a 121-day economic blockade that garnered headlines across the country. [caption id=“attachment_236609” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Ibobi Singh has survived despite claims of non-governance and inaction dogging his previous tenures. Image courtesy PIB”] [/caption] Extra-judicial killings by the police during his second tenure, particularly the incident in which a woman and a reformed militant were killed in Imphal in 2009, had irked people from across the state. However, the chief minister has managed to emerge unscathed from all these problems despite not offering any solution to these problems. Complaints about not furthering the development of infrastructure and lack of governance have dogged him throughout but that don’t seem to have dented his progress. His survival has been attributed to the absence of strong opponents from other political parties but even rebels in his party have not managed to topple him yet. In a state that has seen chief ministers pass through office usually within a couple of years, Ibobi Singh was the first chief minister to survive a full tenure and then win two more terms. Not to say that he didn’t face his fair share of challenges in this election. Seven militant outfits had threatened voters who voted for the Congress and prevented the party’s candidates from campaigning. A crucial key to Ibobi Singh’s survival may have been taking the right decision at the right time. Among the crucial decisions Ibobi Singh took as chief minister was repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act around Imphal city after protests due to the rape and murder of Manorama Devi by Assam Rifles personnel in 2004. He also managed to get the Assam Rifles personnel removed from the historic Kangla fort. The chief minister had also earned support at home when he prevented NSCN (IM) leader, Thuingaleng Muivah, from entering the state and it even helped him escape public wrath over extra-judicial killings by the police.