The fortunes of high profile politicians are at stake and leading this list is Santosh Mohan Deb who till recently, considered Silchar constituency as his fiefdom. However, post the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, everything has changed for Deb as he then not only lost the Silchar seat to Kabindra Purakayastha of the BJP but also, for the very first time, had to associate himself with the tag of a ‘third position’ and so he has become very desperate to get the nomination for his daughter Sushmita Deb who is still politically naïve and is riding on her father’s back. Now the question which is impinging in the minds of the political observers is whether the common people of Silchar will really go with the political legacy of the Debs or whether they will vote for a change? Unfortunately there seems to be no early answer, as BJP too has now stepped into the shoes of the Congress and is also practicing dynastic politics.
As far as the BJP is concerned, the two prominent names which have now occupied space in the local media are Kanad Purakayastha, son of the present MP from Silchar Kabindra Purakaystha and Dr.Rajdeep Roy, son of late BJP MLA from Silchar Bimalangshu Roy. However, apart from the Congress which is now laden with internal squabbles, the BJP seems to be in no better shape either. The party is still finding it difficult to bury the dark chapter of Borkhola MLA, Rumi Nath who voted against the party whip in the election of the candidates to the upper house of the Indian Parliament. When asked about it, Kirit Bhushan Purkayastha, the District President of BJP has this to offer, “Yes undoubtedly it is a shameful incident which we want to bury at the earliest and that is why I personally lay much more emphasis on loyalty towards the party, especially when tickets are distributed and less on winning ability.” At the same time he also did not forget to mention that the verdict of the people of Silchar either in favour or against the party will indirectly be a mandate on the performance of the incumbent MP so far. Under such a scenario it then becomes crystal clear that Kabindra Purakayastha will have to shoulder the responsibility in the case of any eventuality as far as Silchar constituency is concerned.
This election is not going to be a different one as the contest would be mainly between the Congress and the BJP. Having said that, smaller parties especially AUDF can play spoil sport as was noticed during the general elections of 2009, which turned out to be the main reason as to why a large chunk of the Muslim vote came out of the kitty of the Congress. Will the same happen again this time? This is something which only time can tell. However, one thing is for sure; this election is being looked at as a battle for political survival especially for leaders like Santosh Mohan Deb whose political future is really at stake. Many within his party fold are not happy to bow to his dictates any more. The people of Silchar witnessed a political drama when the Congress councillors rebelled against Sushmita Deb and she was compelled to resign from her post. This incident brought to the fore that all is not well in the Cachar unit of the Congress.
The strong anti-incumbency that is tangible in the BJP and in Congress might benefit smaller parties like the AGP and AUDF and there is scope for them to catch the flight to Dispur. The issues that are going to get prominence in this election are price rise, corruption and inflation. Samiran Acharya, the District Secretary of CPI (M) said, “As we do class politics, so we will raise those issues which are likely to have an impact on their day to day activities.” The Bihar model of development has really made an impact on the whole of India. The ordinary Biharis voted for change and out rightly rejected the hereditary raj of Lalu Prasad Yadav. We are a democracy and in a democratic set up there can be no room for dynastic legacy. Now it is to be seen as to whether the parties can really get rid of their myopic attitude and see the writing on the wall. Nevertheless, one thing is certain, people today want development and they can no longer be hoodwinked by their political masters. Under such circumstances will the big guns be able to survive?