Uncertainty hangs over 13th Assembly polls
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 04 2026: Even though the Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated due process for the 13th Manipur Legislative Assembly elections, it remains a big question whether the elections will be held in time or not.

Notably, the current 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly as well as the Yumnam Khemchand-Government expires on March 13, 2027. As such, a new Government must be formed in Manipur before March 13 next year.

The ECI has already initiated due process to hold State Assembly polls in the States of Manipur, Goa, Punjab and Uttarakhand by March 2027 .

The current legislative Assemblies of Goa, Punjab and Uttarakhand expire on next year's March 14, March 16 and March 28 respectively.

Even though the ECI has initiated due process for holding elections in these four States, there is an uncertainty over whether the four States would go to polls together or whether only three States will elect new Governments in March 2027, leaving out Manipur, sources said.

So far, there has been no communication or instruction from the BJP National office to the BJP State office regarding the 13th Manipur Legislative Assembly elections, according to the sources.

There has been no enquiry from the BJP Central office to the BJP State office on drafting any election manifesto.

The BJP State office too has not made any proposal so far with respect to drafting an election manifesto, said the sources.

Being in power at both the Centre and the State, it will not be a difficult task for the BJP to draft a manifesto for the 13th Manipur Legislative Assembly elections.

If the elections should be held in time in March 2027, it is the right time to talk about drafting a manifesto but so far there has been no discussion on drafting any election manifesto, said the sources.

Even though many of the sitting MLAs have started campaigning for the elections behind the scene, none of them has so far held any large scale election rally.

Talking with The Sangai Express, one Kuki MLA said that he has started talking with his workers and each of them has been assigned their responsibilities in preparation for the election.

Many Kuki politicians and intending candidates are hopeful that the 13th Manipur Legislative Assembly elections will be held in time.

However, a deep discord has emerged within BJP on allotment of party tickets for Assembly segments dominated by Kukis, said the sources.

One Kuki MLA said that this discord on allotment of BJP tickets might possibly have links to the prolonged violence witnessed in the State.

NPP, an ally of BJP, is also hopeful that the 13th Manipur Legislative Assembly elections will be held in time.

One key office bearer of the NPP said that election campaigns have started behind the scene in a low key manner.

For BJP, the party may notify about the elections at a very short notice, the NPP office bearer said.

Saying that the 13th Manipur Legislative Assembly elections are likely to be held in late February or early March next year, he said that NPP will contest in only some selected Assembly segments rather than fielding candidates in each and every one of the 60 Assembly seats.

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