Can Manipur Cong stop the BJP juggernaut in NE?

IMPHAL: Forty-five-year-old Menaobi Devi had to jostle through the teeming crowd to find a place in front of the stage where AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi was about to address the people.
"I have come all the way from Thoubal to see Rahul," Menaobi said. "I want to do my bit to support Congress and see that it comes to power for the fourth term. That is why I struggled to find my way to a place in the front," she adds as she is pushed by the pouring crowd, rushing to get a place to at the Palace Ground here.And the crowd continued to swell, even as Rahul started speaking.
It was a mammoth rally. By some estimates, the crowd was somewhere close to one lakh, almost double the number of people who turned up at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally recently at the Langjing Achouba ground in Imphal West.
When Rahul wore a traditional Manipuri turban, worn by bridegrooms of the royal family, the crowd erupted in cheer. "BJP may say whatever it wants against Congress. But we are convinced the state has made progress under the Okram Ibobi Singh government. Look at Thoubal. It is one of the most developed districts in the state only because our chief minister has taken care of it," said Tamphasana Devi, also present at the rally. Ibobi represents the Thoubal seat.
There are voices of dissent, which blame the Ibobi government for inequitable development in the state which has favoured Thoubal at the cost of other places. But, the crowd at the Palace Ground are all for Congress coming back a fourth time.
Even the economic blockade on the national highways of the state since November 1, which has choked the state's supplies of essential commodities and fuel, has failed to dent the support base.
"The blockade has caused a lot of hardship. But it is not Congress's fault," said Memtombi Devi, who hails from Kakching. She refuses to accept BJP's allegation that the Ibobi Singh government has done little to life the blockade even though law and order is a state subject.
Echoing her thoughts, Ramesh Singh from Nambol in Bishenpur district said the state government cannot be blamed for the ongoing blockade as the United Naga Council, which has called the blockade, is dancing to NSCN (I-M)'s tunes.
Former Assam minister and Congress MLA, Rockybul Hussain, who was at the rally, said the Muslims of Manipur are "strongly" with Congress, despite BJP's best efforts to make inroads among the minority voters of the state. "I have travelled through at least 12 constituencies where minority voters are dominant or decisive factors. They are very much with us," Hussain said.
Muslims comprise about 8% of the state's population of about 29 lakh. The state, which goes to two-phase polls on March 4 and 8 for the 60 seats, has a total of 19,02,567 voters.