Asem Bhakta Singh, Special Correspondent North East
Imphal: (Waari Singbul Network) With the crucial Lok Sabha polls round the corner, the ruling BJP is all prepared to kick off canvasing for its nominees in conflict-hit Manipur , and the only saffron party awaits at this juncture is the announcement of its candidates .
Manipur will vote in two phases – April 19 and 26 as the Election Commission on Saturday announced the poll schedules. The state houses two LS seats- Inner Manipur parliamentary constituency and the scheduled tribe reserved Outer seat.
The current MP of Inner Manipur seat is Rajkumar Ranjan Singh of the saffron party who also holds the MoS for external affairs, while Naga People’s Front (NPF) MP Lorho S Pfoze represents the Outer constituency.
Nongthombam Nimbus Singh, senior most vice president of the Manipur unit BJP said the party has already formed a state level election management committee to take up the overall task for the coming polls.
“The committee has 32 different departments and each department will take the onus to smoothen the assigned tasks. Besides the committee, all members of the party numbering over four lakh have begun works at the booth level across the state,” added Nimbus, who is also the chairman of Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board.
Once the party’s central parliamentary board in New Delhi announces the candidates for the state are announced , the poll campaign will be rolled out for which everything is in place, continued Nimbus , while expecting the names within the next few days.
Inner Manipur constituency seat with 15 assembly seats of Outer constituency will go to polls in the first phase on April 19, while the remaining 13 assembly seats of the Outer seat will vote in the second phase on April 26.
Nimbus asserted that the party welcomed the poll schedules , saying the ECI made it after considering thoroughly the prevailing conflict situation gripping Manipur since May last year.
On the other hand, the opposition Congress has a different say, as its state PCC vice president and spokesperson, Kh Debabrata said that their first demand was to defer the election taking into account the unceasing ethnic violence .
“Our request is to bring solution first and polls next. Though election is mandatory, the climate for the polls at this juncture is not conducive, “ he said, adding that as the poll dates have been announced, “we have to participate it remorsefully.”
