Phase-2 of the Manipur Assembly Elections concluded at 4 pm on Saturday. The areas in focus this time were the Thoubal District and the Naga-dominated hills, which according to public perception, will be a hard fight for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to the Election Commission of India (EC), the polling took place across 22 constituencies starting at 7 am and concluding by 4 pm. The final voter turnout reportedly stands at 78.49%.
The Numbers
A total of 92 candidates were in the fray in the second and last phase of polling. They contested in 22 constituencies across six districts. In this phase, the total number of eligible voters was 8.38 lakh. The voting took place in the following districts: Tamenglong, Ukhrul, Thoubal, Chandel, Jiribam and Senpati.
Leaders’ statement
Prominent leaders said a lot on all sides of the political spectrum on the elections day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the country’s people to participate in the electoral process and celebrate the “Festival of Democracy” on Twitter. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also jumped in by claiming that the BJP-led alliance is on its way to winning 80% of the total seats in these assembly elections. He further claimed that this will e possible on the back of promises that BJP kept, such as demolition of casteism, dismantling of dynasty politics, and other issues taken by the party such as nationalism, development, good governance and security.
“I can say with full confidence that when polling is over, and results are declared on March 10, 80% of seats will be won by the BJP with its allies, and it will form its government with a massive majority,” PTI quoted him as saying.
Reports of Voter Fraud
In a statement following the polling, Rajesh Agrawal, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer, said certain polling stations at which poll violence broke out. Subsequently, the voter data could not be retrieved from their EVMs. In these polling stations, he said, re-polling will be conducted. According to him, 12 EVMs were disrupted, some of which could be retrieved while the data of others was lost completely. 5 out of the 11 assembly constituencies faced violence-related incidents in one or more polling stations in the hilly regions.
Key constituencies and who is winning there?
Thoubal is a significant constituency of Manipur and is expected to be the battleground between the ruling BJP and Congress. It is considered a Congress stronghold considering that the party won five out of the six seats in the 2017 assembly elections. The Heirok is another constituency where an intense battle took place as it saw not only a lot of skirmishes on the day of the polling but also a large voter turnout.
Campaigning for this phase ended on March 3, and the results are scheduled to be announced on March 10.
