As polling for the first phase of Manipur Assembly elections is underway, State Election Commission on Monday informed that the voter turnout touched 11.68 percent in the state till 10 am.
The first phase of polls covers seats in Manipur’s valley districts — Imphal West, Imphal East, and Bishnupur. The rest are in the hill districts of Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, and Pherzawl. Besides the BJP and the Congress, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party is also in the fray this time, contesting 38 seats.
As many as 173 candidates are in the fray with 12,09,439 voters expected to exercise their franchise.
The prominent candidates in the fray include Chief Minister and BJP candidate N Biren Singh, Assembly Speaker Y Khemchand Singh, Deputy Chief Minister and NPP candidate Yumnam Joykumar and Manipur Congress president N Lokesh Singh.
According to EastMojo, The BJP has fielded candidates in all the 38 seats, followed by Congress with 35 contestants, NPP with 27, JD (U) with 28, Shiv Sena with seven, RPI (Athawale) with six, LJP (Ram Vilas) with three, and Kuki National Assembly and Kuki People’s Alliance with two each.
The BJP had formed the government in Manipur in 2017 with the support of the National People’s Party (NPP), Naga People’s Front (NPF), and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). But, the Hindu nationalist party is contesting all the seats alone this time.
Indian National Congress has formed an alliance with CPI, CPI(M), Forward Bloc, RSP, and Janata Dal (Secular).
