Manipur votes for 2nd LS seat on Thursday

Eight candidates are in the fray for Manipur’s second Lok Sabha constituency with issues like misgovernance, unemployment and drug menace and  stringent security law dominating the campaigns.

Around 874,000 voters, including 448,000 women electorate, are eligible to vote on Thursday to select one member to the lower house of parliament from among the eight candidates, including a woman, in the Inner Manipur constituency.

Once ravaged by terrorism, Manipur still suffers from militancy, with the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, (AFSPA) being one of the big issues besides development of the state.

“Withdrawal of the draconian law (AFSPA) is a big issue in Manipur. People wanted repeal of the Act,” political analyst Raj Kumar Tarunjit Singh told agencies.