Imphal, May 18 2009: Not one to lose heart, Dr Nara of the CPI who was defeated by Congress candidate Dr T Meinya in the Lok Sabha election today said that though he has been voted second best, the moral victory is his as the Congress won the seat using unfair means.

Speaking to newsmen at Irabot Bhawan along with leaders of the Left and Democratic Co-ordinating Committee today, Dr Nara said that the 'peaceful poll' in the Inner seat was just a facade for there were numerous criminal acts and unfair means used by the Congress party.

Asserting that the election was not at all free and fair, Dr Nara said that a number of goons resorted to proxy voting, depriving the genuine voters the right to exercise their franchise.

A number of voters were also bribed, he alleged but hastened to add that some voters indeed voted for the candidates of their choice.

Dr Nara further said that repoll was demanded at Andro and in Thoubal as there are provisions that such a demand can be made if 80 pc of the voters vote for a particular candidate.

However the demand for repoll was turned down by the Election Commission of India.

"About 2 lakh voters who voted for me were people who wanted a sincere and honest representative,", claimed Dr Nara.

This has given me immense satisfaction, he said and extended his gratitude to all his supporters.

It is criminal for anyone to collect a number of voter ID cards and then issue it to the voter at a price on the condition that the voter should vote for a particular candidate, said Dr Nara and further alleged that there were cases when a single individual cast the vote for a number of voters by collecting their ID card.

Such acts are criminal and made a joke of a free and fair election, claimed the CPI leader.

These instances show that the presiding officers did not dispense with their duties diligently, said Nara and predicted that if such a trend continues in the future, then there may be clashes amongst the public.

The victory of the Congress cannot be said to be on the basis of any popular support from the people, said Dr Nara.

Rather it was a result of an organised gang implementing their agenda, he alleged.

The public are today sceptical of the role of the ECI, he alleged and added that the time has come to reform the electoral process as well as to upgrade the police manual.

There is also the need to educate the public on the importance of election, he observed.

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