Manipur Assembly Elections: BJP poised to score a solo majority

Assembly Election Image Courtesy:wionews.com

As per data available from the official website of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won 20 seats by 7 P.M. It is also leading in 9 seats taking its total tally to 32, thus past the half-way mark in the 60 seat Assembly. The party has no close contenders with the Janata Dal (United) and the National People’s Party (NPP) tied at second place with 6 wins each.

Winners had been declared for 47 seats by 7 P.M. Meanwhile, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) has won 5 seats and Indian National Congress (INC) has been left in the dust with only 4 victories.

Incumbent Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh retained his Heingang constituency winning by a margin of 18,271 votes. Similarly, Opposition leader Congress candidate Okrom Ibobi Singh won the Thoubal seat with a margin of 2,543 votes. Although OI Singh formed the Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance with Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India -Marxist (CPI-M), All India Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Janata Dal (Secular), BJP already owns the lion’s share with 37.6 percent vote share on its own.

Further, experts commended the JD(U) on winning 6 seats in Manipur – a feat the party failed to achieve in 2017 elections. With this, the political equations in the state are likely to change.

Yet, the figures show a possible-end for the Congress party that won 28 seats in the 2017 elections, and 42 in 2012. The BJP-led government still prevailed when on March 15, 2017 the BJP formed an alliance with the NPP, the NPF and the Lok Janshakti Party. That was the first time the BJP formed a government in Manipur – and now it will continue as the ruling regime for another consecutive term.

The majority mark to form a government in Manipur is 31 seats. If the BJP wins all the seats where it is leading, it will be able to retain power in the state without having to form alliances.