Guwahati: A day before the counting of votes to the Manipur assembly elections held on February 28 and March 5, hectic political activities were seen on Wednesday in the BJP-ruled state.
A five-member high-level Congress delegation led by party General Secretary Mukul Wasnik, BJP’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra and JD (U) MPs are camping in Imphal to keep a close vigil of the vote counting process on Thursday.
The AICC delegation, which also includes Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singhdeo, Lok Sabha MP from Meghalaya Vincent Pala, party leader Imran Kidwai, held a series of meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday with Congress’s Manipur in-charge Bhakta Charan Das, Congress Legislature Party leader and former Chief Minister O. Ibobi Singh, state Congress President N. Loken Singh and working President Irengbam Hemochandra Singh.
“Last time (in 2017), despite the Congress becoming the single largest party by securing 28 out of the 60 seats, the BJP through horse-trading and with the help of Raj Bhavan formed the government by winning 21 seats on its (BJP) own. This time we would not allow such wrongdoings,” the Congress leader said.
Before the two-phase assembly elections, all the Congress party candidates were made to swear in the name of God not to switch sides if they win in the election.
Various exit polls on Monday, like previous elections in 2017, predicted fractured mandate in the elections.
Manipur witnessed a hung Assembly in the previous polls in 2017, and this time too, most of the exit polls’ predictions indicate another hung house.
However, this time the BJP, NPP and NPF are contesting separately and have fielded candidates against each other.
