Imkong Walling
Some five odd years ago, when the Rising People’s Party (RPP) entered the electoral playground, this column featured a piece titled– “Fingers crossed.” Led by an outspoken former anti-corruption activist, who made a name for himself, with the now folded ACAUT, the RPP promised everything that was not a fixture to the electoral culture in Nagaland.
They talked about ridding elections of money power, empowering women, and building a self-reliant economy that extended beyond the salaries disbursed by the state government. They claimed to bring back morality into politics and giving good governance to the people.
It was bold and fresh. In a place where electoral results are dictated by money and muscle, the RPP made it feel like it can be done. The piece concluded with a tinge of scepticism wondering if the RPP would live up to its professed high-sounding ideals.
Two days ago, the apparition came crashing down. The RPP folded, merging en masse into the Naga People’s Front (NPF). The “alternative” it proclaimed to be, joined the very “rotting” system it originally sought to replace. It turned out to be just another political party, all rhetoric and no deed.
It was apparent they failed to keep their promises and now had to justify their backpedalling. Culpability however was not on them. The buck was passed to the people. There were apparently no takers for the party despite the people having a clear comprehension of its ideals.
According to them, they tried but were disillusioned, and thus decided to join the system and fight from within. However, many like them have joined the system, only to go mute and disappear without a trace.
Today, the language has shifted from criticism of the ruling dispensation to one of praise. Words like ‘home coming and Nagaism’ were tossed about. The RPP went from being one of the loudest critics of the ruling party, in its various avatars, to becoming its compliant subject. There is a particular kind of disappointment in watching a party that promised a “new social order” end up using the same old excuses to explain its exit.
As easy as it is to point fingers, there is some truth to their claim that the populace is uninterested. The folding of the RPP is a reflection of the make-believe pledges that has become of the ‘Clean election’ movement.
‘Change for the better’ has become a staple of the state’s social, political and cultural rhetoric. Beneath the show is a sad reality where the people that profess reform refuse to change. Couple this with political parties, electoral contenders, tribes, and villages that refuse to risk giving integrity a try, let alone sustain.
In the summer of 2021, the RPP, and its crew of regular people, felt like a draft of cool air. But it was short-lived, going from fresh to damp as quickly as a shooting star. Fingers uncrossed.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
