Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party would comfortably win the upcoming Manipur elections. He said the party would get more than 49 seats in the 60-seat Assembly, reported PTI. Javadekar, who is in charge of BJP’s election campaign in Manipur, was in the state on a two-day visit last weekend.

The ruling party leader sought Congress Chief Minister Ibobi Singh’s resignation for his failure to end the economic blockade in the state imposed by the United Naga Council on November 1, reported Hindustan Times. The blockade has stopped movement on the two national highways that connect the state with other states, and left Manipur reeling. The group has been protesting against the formation of seven new districts.

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Javadekar said the Centre could end the problem in three days. “But the chief minister and Congress-led government need to allow deployment of central forces in the state,” he said. The Human Resource Development minister said his party’s agenda was to unite the people of the state and initiate development projects to improve the economy, while the Congress only wanted to divide Manipur.

The two-phase Assembly elections will be held in the state on March 4 and 8. The votes will be counted on March 11. Singh had earlier dismissed a Home Ministry report on the blockade that had said that the law and order situation in the state was “not conducive” to conduct the Assembly elections.

The report, which was submitted to the Election Commission, had said the situation in the state was “grave”. ”I am told that there is a negative report sent by the Home Ministry to the Election Commission which states that the law-and-order situation in Manipur is not conducive to conduct a free-and-fair election. It is totally wrong and baseless,” Singh had said, adding that problems of insurgency, blockades and strikes were commonplace in the region.