A sense of perceived abandonment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who did not visit the state when a civil war like situation prevailed in the state between the Meitei and the Kuki communities last summer over tribal status demand by the Meiteis, has cost heavily to the BJP-led NDA which failed to win any of the two Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The Congress won both the parliamentary seats of Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur.
Inner Manipur seat
In Inner Manipur, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam of the Congress defeated Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh of the BJP by a huge margin of 1,09,801 votes. The Inner Manipur Lok Sabha constituency consists of 32 Assembly seats: Khundrakpam, Heingang, Khurai, Khetrigao, Thongju, Keirao, Andro, Lamlai, Thangmeiband, Uripok, Sagolband, Keisamthong, Singjamei, Yaiskul, Wangkhei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Konthoujam, Patsoi, Langthabal, Naoriya, Pakhanglakpa, Wangoi, Mayang Imphal, Nambol, Oinam, Bishenpur, Moirang, Thanga, Kumbi, Lilong, Thoubal and Wangkhem.
While Congress regained the Inner Manipur seat, the noteworthy point is that a sitting cabinet minister in the N Biren Singh government, Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh, who holds the education and law portfolios, had to bite the dust. The BJP in fact replaced the sitting MP and Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and brought in Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh to create better winning chances.
“Manipur demonstrates the limitation of polarisation politics, once the people see through the game plan it becomes counterproductive,” said Babloo Loitongbam, director of Human Rights Alert, an organisation that works to monitor, investigate and report human right violations.
The Inner Manipur seat is a Meitei-dominated seat which was left in despair because of failure of Prime Minister Modi to visit the state during peak violence. Although Union home minister Amit Shah did visit the state it could not offer the calm and assurance that the state badly needed then. During such a period of turmoil, the visit by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a lot of difference and connected the party to the people on the ground from both communities.
Outer Manipur constituency
Even in Outer Manipur, a tribal-dominated Lok Sabha constituency, BJP ally Naga People’s Front also lost the election reflecting a sense of strong resentment towards the saffron party. The feeling in the hill districts is that both the Centre and the state governments which were BJP run were biased towards the Meitei community. The results on Tuesday only affirmed the distance between the saffron party and the hill districts.
In the Outer Manipur seat, Alfred Kanngam S Arthur of the Congress defeated NPF’s Kachui Timothy Zimik by a margin of 85,418 votes. The Outer Imphal seat covers the Assembly constituencies of: Heirok, Wangjing, Khangabok, Wabgai, Kakching, Hiyanglam, Sugnu, Jiribam, Chandel, Tengnoupal, Phungyar, Ukhrul, Chingai, Saikul, Karong, Mao, Tadubi, Kangpokpi, Saitu, Tamei, Tamenglong, Nungba, Tipaimukh, Thanlon, Henglep, Churachandpur, Saikot and Singhat. In 2019, NPF’s Lorho S Pfoze had won the Outer Manipur seat.
On Tuesday, Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee president Keisham Meghachandra Singh thanked the people of the state for electing Congress candidates in both the seats. Congress spokesperson from the state Ningombam Bupenda Meitei wrote on ‘X’: “Leave 400, the people of Manipur have rejected the outgoing PM Modi by giving a margin of 1.5 lakh votes for INC candidate, Dr. @Bimol_Akoijam and a margin of more than 0.7 lakh votes for another Congress candidate, Alfred Arthur, in 2 seats from Manipur.”
The conflict resulted in over 220 deaths and caused widespread displacement and destruction of properties.
For the two new Congress MPs from Manipur, the biggest challenge will be to amicably iron out the differences between the two communities, unite them and put the state on the path of progress.
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