Lok Sabha Elections 2024: All eyes on Manipur as Northeast awaits poll results

Manipur has never drawn as much attention as it drew this time with the opposition parties harping on the alleged failure of Narendra Modi government to end the conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities.

Guwahati: In Manipur, all eyes are on the outcomes of two Lok Sabha seats as the Northeastern region eagerly awaits for the results due on Tuesday. 

Despite just two Lok Sabha seats going to polls, Manipur has never drawn as much attention as it drew this time with the opposition parties harping on the alleged failure of Narendra Modi government to end the year-long conflict between the majority Meitei and Kuki communities. 

Senior Congress leader in Manipur, Ningombam Bupenda Meitei on Tuesday exuded confidence that Congress would bag both Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur seats as people voted against the BJP and its ally Naga People's Front (NPF) candidates to vent their anger against BJP's failure to end the conflict.

Meitei said the Modi government's alleged failure to tackle the Manipur situation would be one of the reasons leading to NDA government's debacle at the Centre on Tuesday. 

A JNU professor-turned Congress leader Angomcha Bimol Akoijam and Alfred K Arthur are contesting the two seats against BJP's Basanta Kumar Singh and NPF's Timothy Zimik, a former IRS officer, respectively.

BJP did not field its candidate, instead they extended support to NPF in the Outer Manipur seat, where Nagas and Kukis are the deciding factors. BJP and NPF won the seats in 2019, respectively.    

But BJP replaced the sitting MP in Meitei-dominated Inner Manipur seat, Raj Kumar Ranjan Singh, a union minister, with education minister Basanta Kumar Singh given the outrage they faced during the conflict. 

In Assam, ruling BJP and its allies hope to win 12 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats. Congress, on the other hand, rejected the BJP's claim saying disappointment is in store for BJP and its allies on Tuesday.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi are among the prominent candidates. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also heads North East Democratic Alliance, a forum of BJP and its allies, recently said that BJP and its allies in the Northeast would win at least 22 out of the 25 seats in the Northeast. In 2019, NDA had won 19 seats including nine in Assam. 

In Meghalaya, BJP did not field its candidate but instead extended support to National People's Party (NPP) in both the seats. The NPP reciprocated similarly in Arunachal Pradesh by extending support to BJP candidates, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and another sitting MP Tapir Gao.

In Tripura, BJP's new ally Tipra Motha extended support to former CM Biplab Kumar Deb of BJP in one seat while the saffron party supported Motha candidate, Kriti Singh Deb Barma in Tripura East seat.

BJP extended support to candidate of its ally NDPP in Nagaland while candidate of ruling Zoram People's Movement is seen as the frontrunner in Mizoram.

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