 "Lok Sabha polls: Law minister of conflict-torn Manipur gets BJP ticket")
The BJP on Tuesday released its sixth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, naming two candidates in Rajasthan and one in conflict-torn Manipur. In the Inner Manipur constituency, the party has fielded the state’s education and law minister, Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh.
Basanta Kumar, 59 and a former Indian Police Service officer, will replace the sitting MP and Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. Basanta Kumar is the son of former union minister Thounaojam Chaoba Singh.
Basanta Kumar represents the Nambol assembly constituency in Bishnupur district. He will fight the Lok Sabha polls against Congress nominee Angomcha Bimol Akoijam.
How will Manipur vote in Lok Sabha polls?
Manipur, which has been in the grip of civil conflict since May, will go to Lok Sabha polls in two phases, the Election Commission announced on March 16. The Inner Manipur seat and some areas of the Outer Manipur constituency will vote in the first phase. The remaining segments of the Outer Manipur constituency will vote on April 26, the second phase of polls.
The displaced people, who are currently residing in temporary settlements, will be allowed to vote from those areas, the poll body said.
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50,000 displaced in Manipur violence
More than 200 people have died since the ethnic clashes broke out in the northeastern state between the Meitei people and tribal Kuki communities. About 50,000 people are said to have been displaced in the violence. The law and order issue in the state has been a major flashpoint between the BJP, which holds power in Manipur and the Congress-led Opposition.
BJP's sixth list
In Rajasthan, the BJP named Indu Devi Jatav as its candidate in Karauli Dholpur and Kanhaiya Lal Meena in Dausa seat.