Imphal, March 6
After Sheila Dikshit (Delhi) and Tarun Gogoi (Assam), Okram Ibobi Singh became the third Congress CM to lead the party to three consecutive wins in Assembly elections.
Born to Okram Angoubi and Lukamani Devi on July 19, 1948 in Thoubal Athokpam, Singh, a graduate in arts, was first elected to fourth Manipur Legislative Assembly as an Independent candidate in 1984. He was chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Board from November 1985 to January 1988.
In 1990, he was re-elected to the fifth Manipur Legislative Assembly on Congress ticket and became Industries Minister. He was again elected to the Assembly in March 2002 and became the Chief Minister.
In the 2007 Assembly polls, the Congress had won 31 seats in the 60-member Assembly, but this time the tally improved further.
Thrice in a row for Cong in Manipur
Guwahati, March 6
Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has once again proved that he is a hard nut to crack. The veteran Congressman had led the party to the third consecutive victory in Manipur, the most troubled state in the North-East belying speculation about a hung Assembly.
The Congress is all set to form the next government in the state on its own. It is no mean feat for Ibobi Singh considering the ground situation in insurgency infested Manipur where Naga rebels create trouble almost every next day in hill areas making governance a difficult task there.
The Congress victory is commendable in the sense that after so many life-sapping national highway blockades during the last regime of Ibobi Singh, the people of Manipur have chosen to opt for the “development and stability” plank of the Congress ignoring the rag-tag alliance of Opposition parties that failed to project one single formidable leader as the chief ministerial candidate.
The blanket boycott call given by a coordination committee of all the insurgent groups in the valley areas of Manipur had severely hampered electioneering of Congress candidates, but obviously voters were not impressed by the highhandedness of militants who tried to dictate terms to the voters through the gun.
The militants tried all the tricks available to them to create an atmosphere of terror to coerce the voters to reject the Congress but to no avail.
The insurgents in Manipur nurture a grudge against Ibobi Singh and his government for the hard stand taken by the party’s government against militants for ignoring the “popular” demand of withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. But it has paid dividends for the ruling Congress in the polls as people have voted for security and stability.
The Opposition parties in Manipur have cut a sorry figure despite the Congress facing charges of corruption and misrule.
The poll outcome indicates that the Trinamool Congress could impress some voters in the troubled state while the regional Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) failed to make new ground despite fielding more candidates in the elections this time.
After Sheila Dikshit (Delhi) and Tarun Gogoi (Assam), Okram Ibobi Singh became the third Congress CM to lead the party to three consecutive wins in Assembly elections. Born to Okram Angoubi and Lukamani Devi on July 19, 1948 in Thoubal Athokpam, Singh, a graduate in arts, was first elected to fourth Manipur Legislative Assembly as an Independent candidate in 1984. He was chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Board from November 1985 to January 1988.
In 1990, he was re-elected to the fifth Manipur Legislative Assembly on Congress ticket and became Industries Minister. He was again elected to the Assembly in March 2002 and became the Chief Minister.
In the 2007 Assembly polls, the Congress had won 31 seats in the 60-member Assembly, but this time the tally improved further.
Thrice in a row for Cong in Manipur
Guwahati, March 6
Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has once again proved that he is a hard nut to crack. The veteran Congressman had led the party to the third consecutive victory in Manipur, the most troubled state in the North-East belying speculation about a hung Assembly.
The Congress is all set to form the next government in the state on its own. It is no mean feat for Ibobi Singh considering the ground situation in insurgency infested Manipur where Naga rebels create trouble almost every next day in hill areas making governance a difficult task there.
The Congress victory is commendable in the sense that after so many life-sapping national highway blockades during the last regime of Ibobi Singh, the people of Manipur have chosen to opt for the “development and stability” plank of the Congress ignoring the rag-tag alliance of Opposition parties that failed to project one single formidable leader as the chief ministerial candidate.
The blanket boycott call given by a coordination committee of all the insurgent groups in the valley areas of Manipur had severely hampered electioneering of Congress candidates, but obviously voters were not impressed by the highhandedness of militants who tried to dictate terms to the voters through the gun.
The militants tried all the tricks available to them to create an atmosphere of terror to coerce the voters to reject the Congress but to no avail.
The insurgents in Manipur nurture a grudge against Ibobi Singh and his government for the hard stand taken by the party’s government against militants for ignoring the “popular” demand of withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. But it has paid dividends for the ruling Congress in the polls as people have voted for security and stability.
The Opposition parties in Manipur have cut a sorry figure despite the Congress facing charges of corruption and misrule.
The poll outcome indicates that the Trinamool Congress could impress some voters in the troubled state while the regional Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) failed to make new ground despite fielding more candidates in the elections this time.
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