BJP, NPP ties fray in Manipur ahead of polls

Most parties, voters think Mandate 2022 will be fractured

IMPHAL

The BJP has claimed that is has no strong rival in Manipur, except its “ally”, the National People’s Party (NPP), headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma.

However, there is a general consensus among voters that no party will get absolutely majority in the upcoming Assembly election, but the BJP is confident of winning more than 40 seats in the 60-member House. The majority mark is 31.

“We will win comfortably because the people are happy with our performance. We do not seem to have any rival,” Manipur BJP president A. Sharda Devi told The Hindu.

But she admitted that the NPP was a relatively stronger rival, at least in the Imphal Valley comprising of 39 seats. The NPP is a minor partner in the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur.

However, Manipur NPP general secretary Sheikh Noorul Hassan said, “Attacks on and threats to our candidates make it apparent that the BJP is worried by the NPP. Our supporters are also being intimidated.”

The NPP candidate from the Khetrigao seat, Mr. Hassan has escaped hostile situations at least thrice while the father of the party’s candidate from the Andro seat, L. Sanjoy Singh was shot in the right shoulder by unidentified assailants. The BJP’s Andro candidate is Thounaojam Shyamkumar, the first defector from the Congress after the 2017 polls.