Opposition divided
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 26 2013: With the 16th Parliamentary polls approaching, a bunch of Opposition parties have begun spade works for the big fight against the ruling Congress in Manipur.

Incidentally the non-Con-gress parties' stance to field a common candidate each in both the Inner and Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituencies to take on the Congress is likely to fall flat as some of them are firm on fielding their respective nominees.

Nevertheless a meeting scheduled on Sunday at the office of State unit JD (U) here will attempt to project common candidates.

The B JP has already announced a decision to field its candidates in both the Inner and Outer seats, while the CPI has named its leader and former minister M Nara Singh as its Inner seat candidate.

The Naga People's Front (NPF), which has four legislature in the sixty-member Manipur assembly, also said it will fight in the Outer seat.

NPF's Manipur unit president Soso Lorho said the party will campaign against Congress's failure in all round aspects in Manipur.

"We have begun rolling out informal poll campaign like holding leaders' meeting and other motivation programmes in Imphal valley for Dr Nara, our candidate," said a state unit CPI leader ." Our party will open its mind in projecting a common candidate for the Outer constituency during the non-Congress parties' meeting ," quipped the left leader.

Manipur unit BJP president and former Union Mos Thounougjam Chaoba said that the party has already begun ground works for the coming general election.

"After Sunday's meeting, we will iron out our campaign strategies and we are confident that other like-minded parties will support us to fight against the Congress," Chaoba said.

The BJP, which suffered humiliating defeat in the previous major polls, has already formed an 11-member 'state level political affairs committee to materialize strategies for the coming parliamentary polls-likely to be held early next year.

The ruling Congress that won both parliamentary seats in Manipur in the last general and captured a never before 42 seats in the tenth assembly polls held in January last year, is yet to announce any poll related aspects.

Pradesh Congress committee, nevertheless , opened its website in March this year , a move its leaders said would extend a big help in gearing nup for the next polls as people could easily know the party's unrelenting steps taken up for the welfare of the state through it.

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