Personal vendetta or political rivalry, everything tends to get settled with the gun, especially if it's election time in insurgency-ravaged Manipur. It is not surprising, therefore, that the eighth assembly polls in the state, slated for February 14 and 21, are being held under the shadow of the Kalashnikov.

Politicians of all hues are vowing to preserve Manipur's territorial integrity. After all, the majority Meiteis, who are concentrated in the narrow 2,000 sq km Imphal Valley, are actually apprehensive of parts of the state being sliced and merged with adjoining Nagaland as part of a possible deal with the rebel National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah Group) to solve the Naga insurrection.

If that is one of the key election issues, insurgency is another. Political parties are not only promising to try and bring about a negotiated settlement to the insurgency problem, they have also started accusing parties of enlisting the support of militants to win the polls.

Said Rishang Keishing, former chief minister and one of Manipur's topmost Congress leaders: "It looks like the BJP and its allies in the NDA Government have arrived at an understanding with the NSCN(I-M) and some other rebel groups in Manipur to target Congress candidates during the polls so as to prevent them from winning."

At least three Congress candidates were attacked by gunmen at their homes during the past fortnight. Former Manipur home minister M. Oken and another Congress candidate E. Kunjeswar had a providential escape on Sunday when militants attacked their houses. One of Oken's supporters and an Assam Rifles guard were killed in the raid.

Keishing said NSCN(I-M) rebels have forced Congress candidates contesting the Chandel and Tengnoupal seats to withdraw from the fray. "They have since pulled out. In Chandel, the NSCN(I-M) is backing the BJP candidate while in Tengnoupal it is supporting the Samata nominee," he claimed. The BJP refuted the charge saying the two Congress nominees pulled out of their own volition.

"The Congress went around saying it was sure to win the polls. Now that it has realised that it just cannot, it is trying out tricks like accusing the BJP of having a nexus with militants," said P.B. Acharya, BJP's national secretary in-charge of the North-east.
AICC General Secretary (North-east) Mani Shankar Aiyer lent another twist to the prevailing situation. "The BJP candidates in the Naga-dominated hill areas are openly claiming NSCN(I-M) support. The whole scenario reflects Home Minister L.K. Advani's total failure to use the last eight months of President's Rule to improve Manipur's law and order situation," he told INDIA TODAY.
The Congress is not alone in the firing line. The Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (Oken), a rebel group active in the Imphal Valley, has come out against the election of Meghalaya State Congress Party (MSCP) candidate Bira Singh. The KYKL said in a statement that Bira Singh's brother T. Chaoba Singh, MP from Manipur, was their sworn enemy and, therefore, it is opposed to the former's candidature.

"Our biggest challenge now is providing foolproof security to the 368 candidates in the fray," said Manipur Director General of Police A.S. Siddiqui. As many as 600 of the state's 2,000-plus polling stations have been categorized as "hyper-sensitive" and 500 others fall under the "sensitive" list, meaning they are highly vulnerable to rebel strikes. Stakes at the polls are indeed high although the insurgent groups vow that they do not believe in the Indian Constitution or democratic exercises such as elections.