Having successfully resisted the entry of NSCN(IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah into Manipur despite a Union Home Ministry request to ensure his safe movement,Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has now set his focus on wooing the Nagas in order to continue keeping Muivah at bay. Last weekend was a big day for Singh when his Congress-led SPF government organised a grand oath-taking ceremony for 156 members of the newly-constituted autonomous district councils (ADC) of six hill districts of the state. Majority of the members were Nagas,including a sizeable number coming from Muivahs home district Ukhrul. Elections to the autonomous district councils were held after a gap of 25 years,and that too in the face of strong opposition from some groups,including the All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM). With the expiry of term of the last elected ADCs in 1988,the councils existed only on paper while deputy commissioners held charge as administrators. We have been able to hold the ADC elections successfully despite a lot of intimidations and threats. It is now time for the hill people to take full advantage of the developmental programmes of the government, Ibobi Singh said. Though he took care not to take names of individuals and organisations who tried to foil the elections,the Chief Minister indicated his government would hold no grudge against those groups. The elections are meant to bring about equal development of the hills and plains of the state, he said. Naga groups opposing the elections had imposed an economic blockade from April 11 that crippled the state for 69 days. While the majority of seats were won by Congress candidates,the ruling party was most upbeat about the fact that it won maximum seats in Ukhrul,the native district of NSCN(IM) leader Muivah,dominated by the Tangkhuls,a leading Naga tribe of the state. In Somdal,Congress candidate Josiah,54,won uncontested. Yes,some groups were opposed to the elections. But nobody stopped me from filing my nominations, said Josiah,a social worker associated with the Congress for several years. In adjoining Ukhrul Town (North) constituency,Congress candidate Peter Ragui was declared elected unopposed. In some districts,however,those opposed to the ADC elections intimidated candidates. They burnt down my house on May 31,and I had to take refuge in Imphal along with my family, said Jacob Kongmai,elected unopposed.
