In the midst of all the cynicism raised about whether we can have free and fair elections on February 23, 2013, there is a silver lining in the form of a resolution adopted by the office of the Medziphema Sub-division GBs Union. At least on paper it looks much better than most of the resolution and declaration published in our local dailies, which are mostly in the form of diktats and demonstrating the show of strength and money power of a particular candidate and his supporters. And so under the context prevailing in our State, it is indeed refreshing to see something positive in the columns of our newspaper. According to the resolutions adopted by the Medziphema Sub-division GBs Union, it was agreed that the 25 villages under the Union will welcome any intending candidate irrespective of party under its jurisdiction. It is rare in our political landscape to witness serious kind of campaigning by candidates where issues are brought out and people are given a choice to elect a leader who they believe can deliver. It is therefore a welcome move to allow and not restrict anyone from campaigning and for the villages not to take collective decision to support any particular candidate. Hopefully elections of the future in Nagaland will become like this. The people of Medziphema must be commended for leading the way towards conducting free and fair elections under its jurisdiction. This is a noble step and both the Chief Electoral Officer Nagaland and the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) should take note of this and perhaps give some kind of recognition to this initiative to have people’s democracy. We must encourage people to adopt such good practices and hopefully others will follow suit.
The other noteworthy aspect of the above resolutions adopted includes taking the stand that “issues of tribalism or disputes among the villages should not arise during the Assembly Election”. In order words, it also indicates the mature outlook of the people not to let any kind of ism come in the way of electing one’s representative. Especially in constituencies where there is a cosmopolitan population such as in Dimapur district, we need to rise above tribal affiliation. In such situation any candidate contesting must appeal to all section of people irrespective of tribe, gender, factions or denomination. In a people’s democracy, which we claim to be, a person once elected is the representative of the entire constituency and not just his or her tribe, supporters or party workers. And we believe that a real leader is someone who can garner support of not just his or her fellow tribe but be acceptable to all section of people. And therefore it is important for the progress of our society that we start to move away from parochial politics. Lastly, the GBs union has also agreed to maintain Medziphema Sub-division as a peace zone for the purpose of conducting the coming February 23 election. This is again a novel step taken which can serve as an inspiration for others to follow. It is of most importance that if we want to have free and fair election, the need for maintaining peace and order is a pre-requisite. It is very easy to keep affirming that free, fair and peaceful elections will be conducted on February 23, 2013 but in reality this may not be so. Perhaps the CEO Nagaland and the Election Commission of India (ECI) should encourage micro management of the electoral process by people based organizations like the one initiated by the Medziphema Sub-division GBs Union.
