Even as polling, presiding officers and safety personnel have been leaving for their polling cubicles from the workplace of the Imphal West Deputy Commissioner’s workplace in Manipur on Sunday, Immas (moms) gathered in Khetrigao constituency in Imphal East demanding justice for their candidate, Wahengbam Rojit, generally known as ‘Bullet’, who was shot at.
“Last night, around 11pm, my brother was meeting party members in his constituency when motorcycle-borne youth started to loiter around. Initially, they seemed like drug addicts, but they fired at my brother from point blank range. It’s jungle raj here. Both money and gun power are used in the elections. My brother is a strong candidate. Doctors said my brother’s condition is stable now,” stated Wahengbam General, Rojit’s brother.
According to the state police, the assailants managed to flee after attacking the Janata Dal (United) candidate. The incident occurred amid armed escorts and a lot of supporters.
“They wanted to kill our candidate. We have complained to the Election Commission of India and I hope that strong action will be taken. This is the first such incident in the past 40 years. It is politically motivated. We suspect even the security personnel who were present. Why didn’t they react? They may have given his whereabouts to the attackers,” Hangkhanpao, Manipur state president, JDU.
“I am sure that our arrow will be the answer to their bullet,” Aneel Hegde, nationwide coordinator, JD (U).
The Congress, in the meantime, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of poll-related violence and even approached the ECI to intervene, after the banned Kuki National Organisation issued a press release supporting the BJP.
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According to Rajesh Agarwal, state chief electoral officer of Manipur, 60 FIRs have been registered in the previous 40 days.
“The poll preparation for the first phase is completed. Adequate forces have been deployed in the hilly districts. A majority of the polling booths of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi are hypersensitive. We are trying to ensure Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) presence in every booth. We have taken note of the letter asking people to vote for a particular political party. We have received complaints of intimidation in five to six constituencies,” stated Agarwal.
Of the full 60, 38 seats are up for grabs in the primary section of the polls on February 28. In the primary section, a complete of 173 candidates are in the fray, together with 15 girls. A complete of 9,895 polling personnel have reached 1,721 polling stations. Of the 38 seats, 29 are in valley districts of Imphal East, Imphal West and Bishnupur, whereas 9 seats are unfold throughout Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Pherzawl. Among the important thing candidates are chief minister and BJP candidate from Heingang N Biren Singh, his cupboard colleague Thongam Biswajit Singh, speaker Y Khemchand Singh from Singjamei, deputy CM and NPP candidate Yumnam Joykumar from Uripok and Manipur Congress president N Lokesh Singh from Nambol. The ally in the current authorities, Naga People’s Front (NPF) has not fielded a single candidate in the primary section of polls.
Firebrand chief and JD (U) candidate Thounaojam Brinda, who was the extra superintendent of police (headquarters), can also be contesting in the primary section of polling from the Yaiskul constituency.
The BJP, which had secured 21 seats in the 60-member Assembly in the final Assembly polls in 2017 and wrested the facility for the primary time, stitching collectively a coalition authorities with the help of 4 NPP MLAs, 4 NPF members, the lone Trinamool Congress MLA and an impartial member.
The BJP, NPP and NPF are contesting individually and have put up candidates towards one another.
In the primary section, 12,22,713 voters, together with 6,29,276 girls, will resolve the destiny of 173 candidates. Voting will happen between 7am and 6pm. The counting of votes will happen on March 10.
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