The 2024 Lok Sabha elections with regard to the Outer Manipur constituency would be remembered for several factors. The ongoing ethnic clashes and government apathy towards a meaningful intervention towards bringing a solution has led to voters from the Kuki-Zo fraternity abstaining from exercising their voting right in many areas and the absence of candidates from the Kuki-Zo fraternity amid confusion in whether or not to propose candidates besides the possibility of sizeable division among Naga votes between the candidates.
It is against this backdrop that voting for the constituency was spread in two phases and repoll in six polling stations are being held on Tuesday on the basis of complaints of booth-rigging and destroying of EVM machines. Although widespread booth-rigging was rather uncommon in valley areas of Manipur, it was quite high in the hill areas in many past elections. In the case of the valley, booth rigging was a rare occurrence and complaints mostly come with regard to home polling areas of the candidates.
But, booth-rigging or intimidation by armed groups are very rare in case of the valley areas. This time, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Manipur had sought fresh polls at six polling stations on the basis of reports filed by Presiding Officers regarding incidents of mob violence, riots, and vandalism.
Although there were scattered reports of violence and intimidation in several parts of the valley, the major flashpoints of violence were in Thongju, Kshetrigao, Konthoujam, Uripok and Khurai assembly constituencies.
Interestingly, all five constituencies are represented by either BJP or allied party MLAs including three ministers.
The CEO Office has received numerous complaints from various political parties, including 36 for Inner Manipur and 11 for Outer Manipur from the INC, as well as from parties such as the BJP, and other independent candidates, all seeking a re-poll. After scrutinising the various complaints along with the candidates and their representatives under the respective Returning Officers, the decision to conduct a repoll in 11 polling stations was taken by the Election Commission of India.
Polling personnel deployed in the hill areas always come back with interesting episodes of village leaders or chiefs casting almost all the votes in a village and how it became an uphill task in convincing them to avoid 100 per cent voting.
There is a running joke of a person even requesting to cast a vote for the child strapped in the back. In those days, candidates or their active supporters only needed to convince or ‘arm-twist’ the village leaders or the chiefs instead of going campaigning or canvassing at every home or voter. And these episodes would become fireside stories told by elders to the young generation. However, with the entry of armed groups election results had gone more or less in favour of candidates supported by these groups. In case of the Nagas, with a ceasefire active and the floating of a political party has led to consolidation of Naga votes.
The emergence of several militant outfits in the Kuki-Zo has made the predictability of Kuki votes very complex in case of both assembly and parliamentary elections. This time also, there was a dilemma on whether to project a common candidate from the Kuki-Zo community or not considering the fluid situation of ethnic conflict. There was an incident where an intending Kuki-Zo candidate was prevented from filing his nomination papers by a mob. The fact that he was endorsed by some MLAs and CSOs was rejected by the people.
While Kuki-Zo voters in the Kangpokpi area abstained from voting, those in Churachandpur area participated in the elections. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered repoll in six polling stations of three Assembly segments in 2-Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency. The development came a day after the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur urging for repolling in 19 polling stations in several constituencies following allegations of election irregularities during the second phase of the Lok Sabha Election in Outer Manipur.
