Manipur vote:  Violence, booth capturing, EVMs destruction, firing, turnout recorded 68.81 pc

Imphal: The first phase of 18th Lok Sabha in Manipur ended with booth capturing, destruction of EVMs and VVPATs, firing at several polling stations even if heavy security forces were deployed to conduct the election in free and fair manner.

In the 1st phase of election,  voting was held in 47 Assembly Constituencies, 32 Assembly Constituencies in the Inner and 15 in the Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency. Of the 15 assembly constituencies from the outer, 7 assembly constituencies are from valley districts but fall under the Outer. Voters from both the Inner and Inner Lok Sabha Constituencies cast their votes at 2,107 Polling Stations. While Internally Displaced Persons casted their votes in 85 Special Polling Stations.  On the other hand, voting was held peacefully in 7 assembly segments in the hill district of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts which fall in the first phase. There were no reports of booth capturing, proxy voting or happening of unwanted incidents.

After the end of the voting and as of 5pm, the approximate Voter Turnout for the first phase of Lok Sabha election in the state was recorded at 68.81. For the Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency the voting turnout was recorded at 72.32 percent, while 61.98 percent was recorded for Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency. The final overall voter turnout in the State for phase one Lok Sabha will be known a day later as voting continues till late night at some polling stations which resume after poll related violence.

The voting in the valley areas began smoothly from 7 am, however, after an hour or so, armed men with masks on their faces began storming Polling Station and started doing proxy voting. Then scuffle began when polling agents (mainly Congress agents) and voters started standing against the forced proxy voting, which led to gunfire and voters breaking EVMs and VVPATs. There were various reports of BJP workers destroying Congress Polling Booths in some places. 

In one of such incidents,  a 70-year old man sustained bullet injury at a polling station located at Khurai constituency’s Moirangkampu Sajeb Upper Primary School in Imphal East.  He was reportedly hit by a bullet on the right side of his back, fired by unknown armed mask men while he was at the polling station to cast his vote. 

It was reported that 5 unidentified gunmen, who came in a Mahindra XUV vehicle, came inside the polling station and had an argument with polling agents of the Congress party. When locals intervened, the miscreants while fleeing the polling station fired bullets injuring the man. The man was evacuated to a hospital and is undergoing treatment.

Exchange of fire was reported between unidentified miscreants at Thamnapokpi Upper Primary School Polling Station of Moirang in Bishnupur district. And as a result of the firing, casting of votes was halted for around 3 hours in the polling station. Additional Bishnupur District Police team arrived at the scene immediately and prevented further violence and voting resumed thereafter.

The candidate of the Indian National Congress Candidate for Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency,  Dr. Bimol Akoijam has voiced strong condemnation over use of muscle power and unfair means during the election. The Congress Candidate also condemned the firing of bullets by  unidentified gunmen at the residence of a Congress Agent and intimidating the family of the agent. It was also reported that the unidentified assailants also barged into a residence in the locality and assaulted its residence.  

Meanwhile, the India Bloc Manipur Unit has filed complaints to the ECI, CEO, Presiding Officers and Returning Officers demanding repoll in 36 polling stations in 11 Assembly Constituencies in the Inner and 11 Polling stations of the Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituencies.

During a press conference after the end of the voting at Congress Bhawan in Imphal, the President of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee  K. Meghachandra alleged that the Double Engine BJP government has killed the democracy and value of election and are trying to forcibly win the election. 

He also said that the India Bloc is demanding a repoll where the BJP has done booth capturing to win the election.  

On the other hand,  Convenor of Election Management Committee and General Secretary of BJP Manipur Pradesh, K. Saratkumar has reportedly filed a complaint against INC Candidate Angomcha Bimol Akoijam for alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct. 

Speaking to media persons at BJP Manipur Head Office, the BJP General Secretary alleged that the INC candidate was creating problems by bringing his supporters within 100 meters of polling stations. He also accused supporters of the Congress candidate of trying to capture booths in some polling stations.