After ousting the BJP from the two parliamentary seats in Manipur, the Congress said that the results delivered a “very powerful signal” by electing leaders as MPs of the grand-old party in both constituencies of the state.
The Congress bagged both the Lok Sabha seats in Manipur, which has been embroiled in ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, claiming over 200 lives, including civilians.
Alfred Kanngam S Arthur won the Outer Manipur seat by 85,418 votes, defeating his nearest rival Kachui Timothy Zimik of the NPF. The Inner Manipur seat was won by Angomcha Bimol Akoijam who defeated his nearest rival BJP candidate Thounaojam Basantakumar by 1,09,801 votes. Basantakumar is a state cabinet minister, holding the portfolios of Education, and Law & Legislative Affairs.
Polling was held for the Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur seats on April 19 and 26.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The long-suffering people of Manipur, whose resilience and strength has been under major strain since the state began burning on the night of May 3rd 2023, have sent a very powerful signal by electing Congress MPs in both Inner and Outer Manipur.”
It is also a tribute to Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Manipur on June 29 and 30, 2023, and to the launch of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on January 14, 2024 from Thoubal, when the state government refused permission for it to start from Imphal, Ramesh said.
“It is also a tight slap on the face of Mr. Narendra Modi, who simply refused to reach out to the people of Manipur and did not visit the state even for a few hours,” the Congress leader said.
The two Congress MPs have a huge responsibility, and with their election, hopefully, the process of reconciliation will get a big boost, Ramesh added.
After the results were announced, state Congress president K Meghachandra said Chief Minister N Biren Singh should take responsibility for what has been happening in the state and resign on moral grounds. He also said that corruption was the root cause of the prevailing situation in Manipur.
“The government should take responsibility for the present conflict. The chief minister should take moral responsibility and resign,” he said.
After his victory, Akoijam said his top priority was to ensure that the people displaced in the conflict returned to their homes and lived a normal and dignified life.
“It is a clear mandate against those people who have threatened Manipur. This is a clear message by the people not to take the state for granted. The people have spoken. I have fought this election for my state. Now we should all come together,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
“We have a crisis in the state for the one last year. People are homeless. My top priority is to ensure that those people go back and live a normal and dignified life, and this crisis is resolved,” said Akoijam, a professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.
He urged his supporters to restrain themselves from celebrating the victory as along with the conflict the state was hit by a flood.