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Manipur first phase polls today

Sushanta Talukdar

Focus on Senapati, Ukhrul districts

Imphal: Manipur will go to the first phase of Assembly elections on Thursday amid tight security as underground outfits continued to target candidates.

On Wednesday morning security forces recovered a bomb planted at Uchiwa in Mayong Imphal constituency ahead of a BJP meeting. vice-president of the party Venkaiah Naidu, who was to attend it, said the recovery of bomb was an indication of the total breakdown of law and order under the Ibobi Singh-led Congress Government.

Thursday's election will decide the fate of 77 candidates of 19 constituencies of three districts — Thoubal, Senapati and Ukhrul.

Manipur has 60 Assembly constituencies.

Suspended

Twelve polling officials in Senapati district were suspended on charges of dereliction of poll duties. Seventeen incidents of poll- related violence were recorded in the State since the schedule was announced.

Prominent candidates for Thursday's poll include Chief Minister Ibobi Singh, seeking re-election from Khangabok constituency and also contesting from Thoubal; Francis Ngajokpa, and Victor Keishing, son of former Chief Minister Rishang Keishing.

For the first phase all eyes will be on the hill districts of Senapati and Ukhrul, particularly the Naga-inhabited constituencies with the United Naga Council (UNC) asking other independent candidates to withdraw from the contest in support of the candidates backed by it so that they can be elected to take the cause of "integration of Naga inhabited areas of Manipur with Nagaland" to the floor of the House.

New front

The 11 independent candidates backed by the UNC also formed an alliance under the name "United Naga Democratic Front" on Tuesday and resolved to have a common flag and common symbol.

AFSPA issue

With the Naga Council intensifying campaign on the issue of Naga integration, the political parties, while campaigning for the second and third phase of the polls banked on two major poll planks — territorial integrity of Manipur and withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act — to woo voters.

Union Steel, Fertilizer and Chemical Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who was here to campaign for the 19 Lok Janasakti Party candidates, told reporters that he would raise the party's demand to repeal the AFSPA in the Union Cabinet.

Senior BJP leader Mr. Naidu, on the other hand, said that his party would pressure the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government to table the Justice Reddy Committee report on the Act on the floor of Parliament so that a national consensus was evolved on the issue while keeping in mind the sentiments of the people of Manipur.

The BJP has also mentioned the demand for repeal of the Act in its manifesto.

While the AFSPA issue did not figure in the Congress poll manifesto, the Opposition Manipur People's Party (MPP) made it a major poll plank and the regional party promised that if voted to power it would remove the Act.

Senior MPP leader Okram Joy told The Hindu that the MPP strongly believed that the problem of the armed struggle, launched by various underground groups, could only be solved politically and the withdrawal of the Act and declaration of unilateral ceasefire is a must to bring these groups to the negotiating table.

The CPI, a partner of the ruling Secular Progressive Alliance, has stated in its manifesto that it had been working to repeal the Act and that it had been consistently fighting against it since its proclamation.

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