<p>Seeking to play an important role in national politics ahead of parliamentary election, the Trinamool Congress is eyeing a 2012 repeat performance in Manipur to emerge as the main opposition party there after the Assembly poll.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The TMC is contesting in 24 seats in the 60-member Assembly the election to which is scheduled to be held on March 4 and March 8. The results will be announced on March 11.<br /><br />In the 2012 Assembly poll, the TMC had bagged seven seats, but later all of its MLAs switched sides joining either the Congress or the BJP.<br /><br />The TMC, which holds power in Bengal and a major force in Parliament with 34 MLAs in the Lok Sabha, had been working hard for the last two years with a new team of leaders in Manipur hoping to play a big role in case of a hung Assembly.<br /><br />"We are in a very good position to win at least 7-8 seats in Manipur. Our understanding and the ground report says that it will be a hung Assembly as neither the Congress nor the BJP will be able to gain a majority," TMC vice-president Mukul Roy told PTI.<br /><br />According to the party leadership, Manipur is very important to them in order to emerge as a potent force in the east and the Northeast.<br /><br />"In Tripura, the TMC is the main opposition party and in Manipur if we attain the same status as the last time, it will strengthen our party," a senior TMC leader said.<br /><br />"Keeping 2019 Lok Sabha election in view, if we are able to win four/five seats in the Northeast, then that will be a big boost for our party," he observed.<br /><br />Though it won seven seats in the 2012 Assembly election in Manipur and emerged as the second largest party, subsequently it failed to keep its flock together.<br /><br />While a by-election, necessitated by the death of a TMC member, was won by the Congress, two other Trinamul MLAs - Thongam Biswajit Singh and Khundrakpam Joykishan Singh - were disqualified under the Tenth Schedule. <br /></p>
<p>Seeking to play an important role in national politics ahead of parliamentary election, the Trinamool Congress is eyeing a 2012 repeat performance in Manipur to emerge as the main opposition party there after the Assembly poll.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The TMC is contesting in 24 seats in the 60-member Assembly the election to which is scheduled to be held on March 4 and March 8. The results will be announced on March 11.<br /><br />In the 2012 Assembly poll, the TMC had bagged seven seats, but later all of its MLAs switched sides joining either the Congress or the BJP.<br /><br />The TMC, which holds power in Bengal and a major force in Parliament with 34 MLAs in the Lok Sabha, had been working hard for the last two years with a new team of leaders in Manipur hoping to play a big role in case of a hung Assembly.<br /><br />"We are in a very good position to win at least 7-8 seats in Manipur. Our understanding and the ground report says that it will be a hung Assembly as neither the Congress nor the BJP will be able to gain a majority," TMC vice-president Mukul Roy told PTI.<br /><br />According to the party leadership, Manipur is very important to them in order to emerge as a potent force in the east and the Northeast.<br /><br />"In Tripura, the TMC is the main opposition party and in Manipur if we attain the same status as the last time, it will strengthen our party," a senior TMC leader said.<br /><br />"Keeping 2019 Lok Sabha election in view, if we are able to win four/five seats in the Northeast, then that will be a big boost for our party," he observed.<br /><br />Though it won seven seats in the 2012 Assembly election in Manipur and emerged as the second largest party, subsequently it failed to keep its flock together.<br /><br />While a by-election, necessitated by the death of a TMC member, was won by the Congress, two other Trinamul MLAs - Thongam Biswajit Singh and Khundrakpam Joykishan Singh - were disqualified under the Tenth Schedule. <br /></p>