Polling for 38 seats in Manipur started on Monday, with 27.34 per cent voting recorded until 11 am. Polling was stalled at a polling station in Saitu constituency this morning after a clash broke out between two groups, police said. This is the first of the two-part election in the insurgency-hit state.
As many as 173 candidates are in the fray with 12,09,439 voters expected to exercise their franchise. The key candidates whose fates would be decided today include Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who is contesting from Heingang, speaker Y Khemchand Singh from Singjamei, Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh from Uripok and state Congress chief N Lokesh Singh from Nambol.
The BJP is banking change — “peace, stability and normalcy”, as opposed to “instability, insurgency and inequality” under the Congress — have been the buzzwords of many a BJP leader, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Home Minister Amit Shah, during campaign.
