The BJP has finally been able to name its candidate for the fray in the forthcoming elections. The grapevine has it that the Saffron Brigade was trying to pursue CM N. Biren Singh to join the hustling, but he managed to wriggle out. Then they were said to have tried to convince titular ruler and current Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba, but he also did not bite the bait. Both almost fully knew that if they lost their political careers, they would be doomed. State BJP President A. Sharda Devi had also thrown in her name for consideration, but the top brass of the Saffron Brigade were not willing to take the risk; she had never stood for elections before. Finally, the choice fell on Education Minister Thounaojam Basanta. Yes, Basanta will be the BJP’s candidate in the forthcoming elections to the Lok Sabha.

The Congress has, for the first time, dropped its party members for the ticket and roped in a rank outsider. Akoijam Bimol is the Congress’s choice for the battle. Arunh teaches at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and is a byproduct of the current crisis in Manipur, having made his mark on television debates and social media. His famous byline is that the Indian state has totally failed in the state of Manipur.

The third contender is Thounaojam Maheswar, who is the Republican Party of India candidate. Maheswar is also a byproduct of the current crisis; he would make trips to Delhi and meet all those who matter in the NDA except PM Modi. Then he would also go around the countryside, meeting internally displaced people and frontline fighters. The fourth in the fray is Manipuri movie star R.K. Samarendra, aka Kaiku, who is trying to revive the almost defunct Manipur Peoples Party (MPP) as its candidate.

In the Hills section, or the Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency, the Naga People’s Front had dropped its sitting MP, Dr Lorho, and instead picked up Timothy Zimik, a former Income Tax officer. The Congress has picked former MLA Alfred K. Arthur as their candidate, like Zimik, drawn from the Tangkhul community. There is also a former president of the All Naga Students’ Association in Manipur, namely Kho John. Traditionally, the outer seat is decided by the voters of the eight constituencies in the valley that form part of the outer parliamentary constituency. They form the balancing factor. Another notable factor is the decision by the Kuki community not to field an U candidate in the forthcoming elections. Most probably, they will be supporting the NPF candidate as an overture to future machinations in their demand for a separate Kuki Land. Also, the BJP has decided not to field any candidate for the outer seat and has decided to support the NPF candidate.

But all said and done, this election will not be a normal one, keeping in mind that the state has been in a state of turmoil for 11 months now, with over 200 killed, thousands of houses burned, and over 60,000 people who have become refugees in their own land with no administration worth the name to cope with. The intellectuals and educated voters would be opting for Bimol, but he has little contact with the masses apart from the Congress voters. Maheswar’s advantage would be his contact with the ordinary people on the streets or in the relief centers. The BJP’s bet would be on the fact that they have at the moment at least 17 MLAs from the Meitei community in the valley, and also, being the ruling party in power, they may give the other parties a run for their money.

But with over 10,000 firearms floating around in the valley, it is expected that there might be fireworks as electioneering picks up its momentum.

The writer is a senior journalist at The Statesman