First phase polls today, 173 candidates in fray
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, February 27 2022: In all 12,22,713 voters including 6,29,276 women will seal the fate of 173 candidates as the state goes to the polls in the first phase of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly on Monday.

The elections in 38 assembly constituencies is being held amid increasing number of incidents of violence.

As per official records, a large contingent of Central Armed Police Forces personnel have been deployed in all the 38 constituencies and 9895 polling teams have already reached their designated 1721 polling stations.

To hold a Covid-safe election, mandatory sanitization of the polling stations was done in different parts of the state and other measures, including the use of masks and sanitizer by everyone, was strictly followed.

In the run-up to the polls, the state witnessed several incidents of violence include the deaths of two people and many, including a candidate and a candidate's father left wounded.

Development, militancy, illegal trade of drugs, repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), women empowerment, rising unemployment and corruption were the main issues highlighted by the political parties in their campaign.

Among others, the electoral fate of chief minister N Biren, his cabinet colleague Th Biswajit, NPP candidate and deputy CM Yumnam Joykumar, minister Thokchom Satyabrata, Congress' Ratankumar Singh, Lokeshwar Singh, Saratchandra Singh, sitting party MLA Akoijam Mirabai Devi are at stake.

Firebrand women leader and Janata Dal (United) candidate Thounaojam Brinda, who was the Additional Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), is also contesting in the first phase of polling from the Yaiskul constituency.

Among others, at least 400 women are all set to man polling booths in Imphal East district.

In a first-of-its-kind in the state assembly election, all the 88 polling stations under Yaiskul and Wangkhei assembly constituencies in Imphal East will be completely manned by women polling personnel to assist the voters during the first phase election.

According to Pooja Elangbam, returning officer of Yaiskul and Wangkhei, the women polling personnel underwent intensive training on four rounds.

"Most of the women who have come for training are very enthusiastic and eager to learn.

At the same time, some of them are a bit hesitant because especially about staying the night in the polling station one day ahead of the polls.

But we reasoned with them and calmed them down to explain that these stations are in urban areas and very near to their homes," said Pooja Elangbam.

In terms of their safety measurement, the returning officer said police personnel will also be travelling with them to the polling stations and stationed with them in the same building in different rooms.

"There should be no cause for any problem.

The officials, including me, will be there round the clock in case of any requirement," she added.

"This will be my first official assignment as a polling personnel.

So, initially I was feeling a little nervous and stressed, but after receiving hands on training, I am feeling much more confident.

As a woman, we shouldn't feel hesitant to learn new things and adapt it wholeheartedly," said Kimi Soubam, who is a lecturer by profession and one of the polling personnel.

Notably, a total of 600 all women polling stations have been identified across the state, which means one out of every five polling stations will be manned by women polling personnel for the first time in Manipur state election.

As per a study report of the election monitoring team of Youth Collective Manipur (YCM), the pre-election phase was marked by unprecedented violence and use of muscle and money power, notwithstanding the significant features the ECI introduced.

In a release, YCM noted that the main highlight of the assembly election this year is the escalating poll related violent incidents as 46 violent incidents including 4 deaths, 10 bomb blasts, 15 cases of gun violence, and 19 ransacking of properties and others have been recorded so far.

The open intimidation by armed ethnic militant groups, forcing members of its ethnic community to vote for one particular political party is a matter of grave concern.

Most stakeholders interviewed expressed the possibility of violent incidents continuing even in the post-election period, the YCM release said.

The main source of information for the public about plans and preparedness for the polls are the media briefings of the election officials.

This election is witnessing some new features including measures for conducting elections during Covid-19 pandemic.

The c-VIGIL app, which is designed to empower the citizens to easily lodge complaints on violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC), if it functions effectively, will contribute towards a free and fair election.

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