India's northeastern state of Manipur is all set to go for assembly polls in March 2017. With a total of 60 Assembly seats, Manipur is considered a political bastion of the Congress, as it will be completing a third consecutive term under Mr. Ibobi Singh, and will hope for a fourth consecutive term in office.
Anti-incumbency factor
And this time the state might see an electoral battle fuelled by anti-incumbency, where voters will surely analyse Mr. Singh's performance and take an informed decision to choose a government in this elections.
The only alternative to the Congress are the regional parties in the state, most with a similar mindset of professing accountable liberty, labour, and equal opportunity. But this time, the BJP is trying hard to put up an impressive performance in this state assembly election.
Less than one lakh voters in all 60 Assembly Constituencies
Less than one lakh voters in each of the 60 assembly constituencies of Manipur will decide the fate of candidates in this year's polls. About 732780 voters in the age group of 25-40 years will exercise their right to vote.
Age and Sex-wise Composition of Electorate
Age (18-25 years)
Male (155247)
Female (158756)
Others (0)
Total (314003)
Age (25-40)
Male (354548)
Female (378232)
Others (0)
Total (732780)
Age (40-60)
Male (295630)
Female (303333)
Others (0)
Total (598963)
Age: Greater than 60
Male (119984)
Female (128013)
Others (0)
Total (247997)
Women voters outnumber males in all age groups
Manipur became a Union Territory in 1956 and later, in 1972, a full-fledged state. It has two Lok Sabha constituencies and one seat in the Rajya Sabha. It has just two divisions and nine districts. The Inner Manipur consists of 32 assembly seats and one parliamentary constituency. Outer Manipur has 28 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha Constituency. Interestingly, women voters outnumber males in all age groups in the state, which has around 18 lakh voters.
The total population of the state is 27,21,756 lakhs as per 2011 census.
Manipur: a mosaic of rich culture and traditions
A beautiful northeastern state of India, Manipur, boasts of a mosaic of rich culture and traditions. In the company of vibrant dances and music, the Manipuris find ample of reasons in their fairs & festivals for celebration. In the field of art and culture, the State is best represented by its classical and folk dance forms and also the theatre.
2017 poll dates in Manipur
The 2017 Manipur assembly polls will be conducted in two phases. First phase involving 38 constituencies on March-4, and second phase to take place involving 22 constituencies on March-8.
Before delving into the main contenders for the upcoming polls, we shall have a cursory glance as to what are the main problems of the state, as these issues are likely to remain the top agenda of every political party contesting for polls.
Major Issues
1. Economic blockade
Manipur primarily has three ethnicities - Meiteis, Nagas and Kukis.
The Meiteis who are dominantly Hindus, live in the Valley, while the other two mostly occupy the hills. There is often a triangular tension among these 3 main groups.
The Valley, consists of five district .- Senapati, Tamenglong, Chandel, Ukhrul, and Churachandpur. And in the plains, there are four districts- Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, and Bishnupur.
The Nagas have been demanding to merge the lands inhabited by them with the state of Nagaland to form a Greater Nagalim and the Meities, the original habitants of Manipur are vehemently opposing it. Currently, a economic blockade is causing severe hardship to local residents. The prices of essential commodities have shot up. A litre of petrol is selling for more than Rs. 300 and an LPG cylinder costs as much as Rs. 3,000. There have been reports of sporadic violence taking place in the run-up to the polls.
On December 14, when the chief minister was to inaugurate the new Tengnoupal district, three commandos were killed and 11 injured in two ambushes. This was followed by an attack on a police post in Tamenglong district on December 17.
2. AFSPA
One of the major electoral issues in Manipur has been the demand of repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act was signed into law in September 1958, and was later renamed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). It authorises the central government and heads of states and Union Territories to declare the regions they govern to be "disturbed areas." The act gives armed forces extarordinary powers, including immunity from legal action, and the licence to shoot to kill and arrest people without obtaining warrants.
The insurgent groups operating in the area are opposed to elections and would invariably give a call to boycott it as well.
Irom Chanu Sharmila, a civil rights activist-turned politician of Manipur and known as the "Iron Lady" or "Mengoubi" had been fighting for repealing the AFSPA. She began a hunger strike on this issue on November 2, 2000 which ended on August 9, 2016, after 16 years of fasting.
3. Naga Accord
The NDA government signed a framework agreement on August 3, 2015, with the NSCN (IM) group. Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the agreement as "historic" and expressed his optimism that it would pave the way to permanent peace and prosperity in the state.
Details of the agreement were not made public, but an impression was given that the NSCN (IM) had given up its demand for Greater Nagaland and that the government had agreed to give greater autonomy to Nagaland.
Union Minister for Home Affairs (MOS) Kiren Rijiju said that the exact terms of agreement would be finalised in about three months. Nearly 18 months have passed, the final agreement is nowhere in sight.
What is disturbing is that NSCN (IM) continues to violate the terms of the suspension of operations agreement with impunity. They even made an abortive attempt on the life of Ibobi Singh on October 24, 2016, when his helicopter landed at Ukhrul district headquarters. What is worse, Th. Muivah, NSCN (IM) general secretary, keeps harping on 'Naga sovereignty'.
Main Contenders for the polls
The main contenders for the polls are the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Irom Sharmila-led People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) and the Trinamool Congress. There are also two recognized state parties viz., Naga People's Front (NPF) and the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) in Manipur, according to Chief Electoral Officer.
Congress
The Congress has been in power for the last 15 years with Okram Ibobi Singh in chief ministerial role since 2002.
However, this year, the Congress might find difficult to retain its power due to anti- incumbency sentiments in the state coupled with the tough challenge it would be facing from the BJP, which in 2015 By-polls, secured two seats from Thangmeiband and Thongju area, both considered strongholds of the Congress.
Apart from that, the recent decision of the Manipur Government to carve out seven more districts in the hill areas might become a major issue in the assembly poll as it saw intense backlash from the Naga tribes which led to the economic blockade of the National highway called by the United Naga Council.
The fact is, the creation of the seven districts by the Congress led government led by Chief Minister O. Ibobi Singh while pleased the Meiteis of the Manipur, it upset the Nagas residing in the state, who claimed this as an attempt to suppress their rights. In protest they caused an economic blockade. The Nagas fear that the bifurcation would result in encroachment of their ancestral lands.
BJP
The BJP, on the other hand, will be making the economic blockade and the failure of the government to control the situation as the main electoral plank for the elections.
BJP is accusing the Congress Govt. in Manipur saying that even after three terms, it has miserably failed to execute plans which are in larger public interest.
The BJP is also raising issue of rampant corruption in Govt. recruitments, irregular salaries, non-functional Govt. machinery, farmland-grabbing in the name of development, drinking water issues and outsourcing of law and order to Village Defence Force (VDF).
However the sudden resignation of Khumukcham Joykishan from the BJP who had earlier defected from Congress, joining the Congress thereafter, has endangered saffron party's prospects in poll-bound Manipur,
He was considered as one of the BJP's prominent young faces, and a probable chief ministerial candidate for the coming assembly polls. He was one of the three members of the BJP's election management committee that was established to formulate the party's strategy for the upcoming polls in the state. He also helped the party open its account in the state assembly in November 2015 along with Th. Biswajit. Joy kishan joined the BJP in May 2015 after Bishwajit, another fellow MLA from All India Trinamool Congress, O Lukhoi and him were disqualified by the speaker under the tenth schedule.
All three were elected for the first time to the assembly during the 2012 polls. Joy kishan and Biswajit won their respective seats in the mid-term polls as BJP candidates.
Irom Sharmila and the PRJA
Activist Irom Sharmila, who ended her 16-year-long fast demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act on August 9, formed People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance ( PRJA). Sharmila would contest from two constituencies - Thoubal and Khurai. While Khurai is her home constituency, Thoubal is constituency of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.She has blamed Ibobi's government for creating seven new districts without consulting all groups, and for extending AFSPA by another year.
Sharmila's party has selected six candidates out of the 60 assembly seats.
Other contenders: BJP, Trinamool Congress, Naga People's Front, Manipur State Congress Party, People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance ( PRJA).
Brief history of Manipur Assembly elections
Since 1963, 11 people have been elected as chief minister, including Singh, out of which five represented the Congress Party.
Before Singh, Manipur was under President's Rule from June 2, 2002 till 6 March, 2002.
And before the President's rule, Radha Binod Koijam from the Samata Party was the chief minister from February 15, 2001 till June 1, 2001.
Manipur Poll Date: 4 & 8 March (Two phases)
Population in 2011: 0.26 Crore
Assembly seats: 60
Party in power: Congress
Chief Minister: Okram Idobi Singh
Total Number of Voters - 18 Lakh
Less than 1 Lakh voters in all 60 Assembly Constituencies
Total population of the state - 27,21,756 lakhs (2011 census)
Party-wise seats in assembly poll 2012
Party Seats Won Vote %
Indian National Congress 42 42.42%
All India Trinamool Congress 7 17.00%
Lok Jan Shakti Party 1 0.55%
Manipur State Congress Party 5 8.39%
Naga Peoples Front 4 7.50%
Nationalist Congress Party 1 7.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
