Holding elections to the ULB remained a controversial issue for many years because of which it could not be held for 20 years. Many wondered whether the imbroglio would ever see the light of day. But finally the government was somehow able to sail through the turbulent waters and convinced the stakeholders about the magnanimity of the issue. And thus the ever contentious ULB elections finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel in the last week of June 2024.
After the polling and counting dates were announced, things got heated up rather intensely and many candidates from every nook and corner of our towns came out of the woodwork and proclaimed their candidatures for the polls as if they had been waiting only for this event their whole lives. Some of the candidates were of my age, some were much younger whereas some were of my uncles’ and aunties’ age. It was a mixed bag but I guess it was not a bad thing to see such enthusiasm from people of all ages vying to be town councilors. In fact at one moment of time I thought the bus came my way too and I somehow missed it. But seeing many hitherto unfamiliar city dwellers coming out of the woodwork to contest the ULB elections, one cannot help but wonder whether they actually came out to build our cities or to build their own political careers.
In their campaign trail in Kohima, the so-called ruling party went around boasting that more than 50 people asked for their party tickets in Kohima despite the fact that the capital city has only 19 wards under it. But it is understandable that for elections to city councils, intending candidates will naturally gravitate towards the ruling party because with the ruling party behind you, the prospects would dramatically change in your favor. But it was rather amusing to see those who got the tickets of the so-called ruling party going around as if they have got the lifeline or golden ticket. The scenario was somewhat akin to people who migrated to the United States celebrating after procuring the much coveted Green Card. Whereas for those candidates who contested as independents or under the banners of other parties, they were looked upon as being out of sync with the times.
Some of the big shots of the present so-called ruling party like to label themselves as a purely regional party or as an alternative regional party of Nagaland and they are also presently in alliance with a national party. But for most Nagas, the original regional party was, is and will always be the cock party.
During campaigning times, it is normal for the campaigners to appeal to the voters to vote for one’s own party candidates. But unfortunately, some of the campaign speeches of some campaigners sounded more like threats and intimidations rather than appeals and requests. Once a candidate is elected, he has the mandate of the people of his ward/colony and as such he deserves the respect and acknowledgment of everyone even if he does not belong to the so-called ruling party. But unfortunately, in our Naga democratic sea, many fishes are swimming around who cannot see anything beyond party lines and they would go to any extent and say or do anything to please their political bosses or to lure the voters into submission.
As expected, the candidates talked about bringing better infrastructure, better drainage, sanitation, dependable water supply, women and youth empowerment, setting up of libraries and health centers etc. And these are all good. But I was surprised to notice that none of the candidates spoke about the ILP debacle. We are all alarmed by the influx of illegal immigrants into our lands and we are unable to come up with any effective mechanism to tackle the issue. The best level at which we can check and regulate the ILP system is at the colony and ward level. In many colonies of Kohima and Dimapur, the tenants already outnumber the landlords and land owners.
Another terminology missing from the vocabulary of most candidates was CCTV. As we all know, when societies become cosmopolitan, it brings along with it many challenges and formerly unknown phenomena. One such challenge is the phenomenon of crime and anti-social elements. Every society desires safety and security for its denizens. Crimes and dodgy elements have been parts of human society since time immemorial. So if the authorities are able to tackle this menace effectively, then it can go a long way in maintaining the much-needed peace and decorum. And fortunately today we have technology on our side at minimal costs. Long gone are the days when all the Naga villagers knew each other by name. Today we live in the midst of strangers in our own lands. So we should take advantage of the technology available and install CCTVs not only on the main roads and shopping malls but also in every colony roads and corners which will give us a sense of security and protection and deter unscrupulous elements and outsiders from taking advantage of our hospitality and asylum.
In the case of Kohima,, we have the menace of roadside parking. With cars parked on both sides of the narrow colony roads, it needs extra skill, extra patience and extra assistance for drivers to maneuver. And in times of medical emergencies and programs like get-togethers, weddings and funerals, a traffic jam which starts in a narrow colony road can bring the whole Kohima city to a standstill. So now with the representatives of every colony comfortably seated in their respective designated seats we hope to see some efforts towards mitigating these nuisances which have been plaguing our city for long. We expect some real practical solutions as it is no longer practical to appeal to the public not to buy vehicles unless they have garages because our cars already far outnumber our garages.
The need to clean up our septic tanks arises every 5 – 7 years. And our KMC has a couple of cesspool cleaner trucks to take care of this. But the KMC cesspool cleaner trucks are too big for our narrow colony roads marred by vehicles parked on both sides. Therefore the newly elected councilors of KMC should come up with smaller cesspool cleaner trucks which can penetrate better into the inner parts of the colonies.
The recent ULB elections also showed us once again what we always witness during election times. In one sense, it was a matter of “who can bluff who”. All intending candidates tried to present themselves in a positive light while downplaying their opponents. And though many of the candidates pledged and promised many things, the underlying current seems to be that most of them were seeking a political career out of this ULB election. But as for me, I have no objection to any of the candidates building political careers out of this as long as they deliver on their promises and do not shy away from their responsibilities.
We have talked so much about grass-root level development and grass-root connection. And the government has many times expressed its inability to have a meaningful connection with the grass-root level because of which many developments eluded the people at the lowest level. But now an effective machinery has been set in place to infiltrate the grass-root levels with developments, schemes and programs. So now, the legislators and bureaucrats running the affairs of our people have no more excuse as they now have the councilors to carry out their policies at the grass-root level.
It would be painful for any ruling party and its government to see the money that was sanctioned for city and town developments return back to its source because of the absence of municipal bodies and town councils. Unfortunately, we experienced this dilemma for 20 years and thus we denied ourselves many developmental opportunities which reached out to us. In other words, for 20 long years we failed to grab the developmental funds that were earmarked for our cities. But now that our city councils have been set in place, it should be the effort of all city councilors to ensure that these funds are judiciously used for its intended purpose and not siphoned off elsewhere.
To end the discourse on a personal note: seeing many candidates coming out of the woodwork to file their nominations, the overwhelming impression I got is that most of them seem to be vying just to become a part of the system. But today we need people who would not just become a part of the system but people who can question the system. Today we need people who do not just melt into the system but people who can infiltrate the system from within with new ideas, innovations, methods and strategies.
