The BJP is likely to retain Manipur winning 32-36 seats, while the Congress will continue to be the principal Opposition party, according to the ABP-CVoter survey. The Congress is expected to win 18-22 seats in the 60-seat state legislative assembly. The survey has further predicted disappointment for the Naga People’s Front that may end up bagging 2-6 seats.
In terms of vote share, while Congress will poll 34.5 per cent of votes, 40.5 percent will go to the BJP and 7 per cent to the NPF. The remaining 18 per cent will be going to Independent candidates.
In the 2017 polls, the Congress, which had won a total of 28 seats to emerge as the single largest party in the 60-member Manipur house, saw members deserting it from time to time. Later, in a dramatic finale, the BJP, which won 21 seats, formed government with the support of three regional parties — Naga People’s Front (NPF) National Peoples Party (NPP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) — and the support of another MLA.
This time, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), a coalition partner in the BJP-led NDA, has announced it will contest the assembly polls in Manipur, which are scheduled to be held in March next year.
On the other hand, the Congress has appointed former Union minister Jairam Ramesh as the poll observer in the northeastern state. The Grand Old Party, which has been suffering from infightings in its state units and leadership crisis, is aiming to wrest power from the BJP in the state.
The Congress recently suffered a major setback as its former Manipur chief Govindas Konthoujam joined the BJP. He had resigned as the Congress’ Manipur unit chief in June this year. Later in July, he also resigned from the membership of the state Assembly and primary membership of the party. Konthoujam, who is a six-time consecutively elected MLA from the Bishnupur seat, had cited “personal reasons” behind his resignation.