The 60-seats assembly of Manipur, located in the Northeast region of India, goes to the polls as its tenure is scheduled to end as of March 19. The dates for the voting in Manipur will be done in two phases, last week, were altered by the Election Commission.
The polls for the first phase are scheduled for February 28, while the second phase voting will begin from March 5 onwards; before this schedule, the poll dates were scheduled for February 27 and March 3.
A variety of ethnic groups and political parties had urged the Election Commission to change the voting dates because the polls that’d take place on February 27 were disrupting the 27th’s church services.
There are 41% Christians in Manipur, which comprises three million Manipur’s population.
The schedule being
Phase 1: February 27
Phase 2: March 3
Counting Day: March 10
The Election Commission was petitioned by The All-Manipur Christian Organization, AMCO, on January 18. The petition asked to postpone the first phase of the Manipur assembly elections.
Background:
The last assembly elections took place in March 2017, and the same tenure ends on March 19, 2022. Following the polls, the state government was formed by a coalition of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the National People’s Party, the Naga People’s Front, and the Lok Janshakti Party.
- Biren Singh took up the role as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the 2017-22’s tenure.
Seat Distribution:
There are a total of 60 constituencies in Manipur. A total of 7 political parties have contested the elections.
Here’s the date:
- Bharatiya Janata Party: In Manipur, the party is being led by Nongthombam Biren Singh.
BJP has contested for a total of 60 seats.
- Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance: This is an alliance formed by the coming together of the Indian National Congress and Communist Party of India.
- INC: It is being led by Okram Ibobi Singh. The representatives of this party had contested 54 seats.
- CPI: Communist Party of India is led by L. Sotin Kumar. Candidates from this party have contested for two seats.
(The two parties, i.e., INC and CPI, will have a friendly contest in the Kakching constituency.)
- Naga People’s Front: This party is being led by Losii Dikho, and its candidates are contesting for a total of 10 seats.
- National People’s Party: Yumnam Joykumar Singh leads this party for the Manipur Assembly elections. The candidates of the party have contested Forty-one seats.
- Others:
- Janata Dal (United): This party will be led by Hangkhanpau Taithul. However, other details are to be declared by the party.
- Samata Party: This party will be led by Uday Mandal, and other details are to be declared by the party.
Congress’ take on Manipur Elections 2022:
The Indian National Congress has formed a pre-election coalition with various parties in Manipur, namely: the CPI, Forward Block, CPM, RSP, and JD(S). This grouping is also commonly known as the Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA).
The Congress Party, earlier this week, announced the names of its top campaigners for the forthcoming Manipur Assembly elections. The list included the following names, as the face of the campaign: Kanhaithya Kumar, Interim President Sonia Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Rahul Gandhi, and former CM Okram Ibobi Singh.
Even though the list did not mention Priyanka Gandhi’s name among the list of campaigners, she addressed the masses in Manipur on February 15. She, from Delhi, using virtual technology, interacted with the crowd.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, General Secretary of the Congress, has recently pointed out that the BJP-led Centre’s policies will only benefit the prominent industrialists in the state while denying the poor and middle class. She also claimed that BJP’s policies do not cater to political and cultural space for diverse religions, classes, and regions.
In her address, Priyanka said that the BJP is suppressing the voices of the individuals. She further said that the Bharatiya Janata Party made various promises before the elections, but the BJP ignored Manipur and the Northeast region after the election.
Priyanka termed Manipur as “the jewel of the country.” She pointed out the unemployment crisis in the state. Vadra said that the tourism sector could prove to be a great source of employment, and if small and medium scale industries are given the aid, a variety of job opportunities can be created using them.
Furthermore, Priyanka Gandhi stated that Congress has always focused on development and women’s empowerment.
According to the sources from the Congress, star campaigners such as Rahul Gandhi might visit poll-bound Manipur next week.
The counting of votes, post-two-phase elections, will take place on March 5.
Published By: Jaspreet Singh
Edited By: Kritika Kashyap
