BJP supporters went on violent protests in Manipur on Sunday after the party declared candidates for next month’s state Assembly elections, NDTV reported. Videos and photos showed supporters shouting slogans, carrying placards and burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
The supporters of those aspiring for tickets vandalised party offices and set BJP flags on fire, The Hindu reported. Violence was reported from parts of Imphal West, Tamenglong and other districts. Security personnel were deployed outside the party’s offices in the state and the Manipur BJP headquarters had been “turned into a fortress”.
More than a dozen defectors from the Congress and other political parties have been accommodated in the list of 60 candidates announced by the BJP on Sunday for the Manipur elections, according to The Hindu.
The BJP published its list four days after its deadline for announcing candidates, The Indian Express reported. According to the report, the party was finding it difficult to allot tickets with three to four aspirants for every seat. Politicians from other parties had joined the BJP ahead of the elections. Chief Minister Singh will contest from his Heingang seat.
The defectors include candidates from the Trinamool Congress, National People’s Party and Lok Janshakti Party who were elected in 2017 – Tongbram Robindro (Thanga), Letpao Haokip (Tengnoupal) and Karam Shyam (Langthabal).
MK Preshow Shimray, a former Congress legislator and Speaker, has been given a BJP ticket. MK Preshow Shimray, a former Congress legislator and Speaker, has also been selected, according to The Hindu.
Senior legislator Y Irabot Singh has been dropped from his Wangkhei seat and Congress defector Okram Henry Singh has been given a ticket. M Prithviraj, who joined the party last year, has been given a ticket from legislator P Saratchanra’s Moirang seat. Sitting legislator M Rameshwar Singh has been dropped from his Kakching seat and Y Surchandra, who joined the BJP in January, has been given a ticket, according to The Indian Express.
In Sagolband, the BJP has fielded RK Imo Singh, who defected from the Congress in November. RK Imo is the son-in-law of the chief minister. Angry protestors ransacked the mandal office and in a video on social media threatened to shut it down.
While announcing the list in New Delhi, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, who is also in charge of the Manipur elections for the BJP, said the party would return to power with a two-thirds majority.
“Most of the tickets have been given to those who have had a long association with the party,” Yadav said. “Only two sitting MLAs have been replaced,” he said.
In the 2017 elections, the BJP had won 21 seats. It formed the state government with the help of independent legislators and other smaller parties.
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