Opposition parties agree on common candidates
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 31 2013 :
In a major breakthrough, 13 Opposition parties have struck an agreement to field common candidates against the ruling Congress party for both Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituencies in the next Lok Sabha elections.
A joint meeting of 13 Opposition parties was held this afternoon at Hotel Imphal under the aegis of JD (U) with BJP State unit president Th Chaoba in the chair.
Representatives of BJP, CPI, CPI (M), MPP, JD (U), JD (S), NPF, Trinamool Congress, MSCP, BSP, Shiv Sena, and All India Forward Bloc participated in the meeting.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, JD (U) president M Tombi and MPP president L Sovakiran declared that 13 Opposition parties have agreed to field common candidates in both Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituencies.
The meeting which lasted for almost four hours, after deliberating on different political strategies to defeat Congress candidates in the next Lok Sabha elections, resolved to field common candidates for the 13 Opposition parties.
The Oppositions parties, putting aside all differences and pushing respective parties' interests, resolved to put up common candidates.
The candidates and their political parties who would represent the 13 opposition parties would be decided in another joint meeting which is scheduled on June 19 .
In the meantime, the parties would consult each other and take a position regarding the common candidates should be put up as independent candidates or under whose parties' banner they would contest the election before the same matter is tabled in the June 19 meeting, said Tombi and Sovakiran.
They asserted that the incumbent Government has failed on all fronts.
Today's meeting noted that potable water can be purchased anytime, anywhere even though the Government has failed to supply potable water.
The meeting also condemned in the strongest term the murder of Reingamphy Awungshi from Ukhrul at South Delhi.
Participants of the meeting observed two minutes' silence in honour of the departed soul.