Congress looks to repeat its performance in Manipur

Congress continues to remain relevant across the hills and the valleys

Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

In the last five decades, Manipur's political landscape has been dominated by the Congress and a clutch of State parties. Over the years, many regional parties have tried to capture the imagination of the people across the State. But none has been able to become a relevant one across the four distinct regions — the rural areas in the valley, the urban areas, the hilly regions dominated by the Naga tribes and those by the Kukis.

The regional outfits have got confined to the ethnic pockets, representing the major groups in specific areas. The Manipur Peoples' Party has consistently performed well only in the valley regions while the National Peoples' Party remains a Kuki outfit even as newcomer Naga Peoples Front made a dent in the Naga-dominated hill regions.

But the Congress has managed to fetch a considerable vote share across all the four regions. The party's ability to do so has helped it retain power in the State for 15 years.

The following graphic explains the Congress' performance in terms of vote share across the different regions.

 

But the three month-long economic blockade of a crucial highway leading to the valley and the hills has affected the Congress. The United Naga Council has refused to budge from its stance and continued the blockade that was imposed following the decision by the Congress to create seven new districts in the State. The decision was an outcome of the original demand by the Kukis for a new district to be carved out of the Senapati district which has a mixed Naga-Kuki representation.

The following tables shows the % vote share across different regions of top four parties in the last four elections.

2012

PARTY	Hills Kukis	Hills Naga	Valley Rural	Valley Urban	Total Result
INC	47.87	40.44	42.82	37.6	42.42
AITC	23.62	7.37	19.06	18.16	17
MSCP	5.34	9.16	7.39	16.05	8.39
NPF	1.87	33.3			7.5

 

2007

PARTY	Hills Kukis	Hills Naga	Valley Rural	Valley Urban	Total Result
INC	35.98	22.74	37.68	41.97	34.29
IND	14.89	65.84	3.14	0.15	19.5
MPP	1.74	0.03	24.74	25.96	15.45
NCP	12.24		11.22	10.14	8.63

 

2002

PARTY	Hills Kukis	Hills Naga	Valley Rural	Valley Urban	Total Result
INC	35.82	23.34	25.01	23.46	26.18
FPM	13.85	18.14	18.52	23.29	18.14
MSCP	4	5.79	17.72	15.23	12.4
BJP	4.73	23.97	3.65	12.15	9.55

 

2000

PARTY	Hills Kukis	Hills Naga	Valley Rural	Valley Urban	Total Result
MSCP	25.4	20.06	28.77	29	26.28
INC	15.82	28.39	16.92	6.9	18.31
BJP	1.44	7.58	12.14	31.64	11.28
FPM	12.43	12	6.2	15.16	9.44