Imphal, Jun 4 (PTI) Congress won both the Lok Sabha seats in strife-torn Manipur on Tuesday, according to the Election Commission.
Alfred Kanngam S Arthur won the Outer Manipur seat by 85,418 votes, defeating his nearest rival Kachui Timothy Zimik of the NPF.
Arthur secured 3,84,954 votes, while Zimik bagged 2,99,536 votes.
In the Inner Manipur seat, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam defeated his nearest rival Thounaojam Basantakumar of the BJP by 1,09,801 votes.
Akoijam got 3,74,017 votes and Singh received 2,64,216 votes.
Manipur has been on the boil since May last year as ethnic violence broke out after a march by Kuki tribals in the hill districts to protest against the valley-dominant Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribes status.
Since then, over 220 people belonging to both the communities, including security personnel, have been killed in the continuing violence. A BJP-led government has been in power in the state since 2017.
After the results were announced, state Congress president K Meghachandra said Chief Minister N Biren Singh should take responsibility for what has been happening in the state and resign on moral grounds.
“We are victorious because of the support of the people who have been sufferring. We are thankful to the people for showing their trust in our two candidates who have won with massive margins,” he told reporters at the state Congress headquarters.
Meghachandra said corruption was the root cause of the prevailing situation in Manipur.
“The people have given a strong message through this election. We will definitely make sure that the trust reposed on us by the people will be transformed into work, and we will do what we have said in our manifesto,” he added.
“The government should take responsibility for the present conflict. The chief minister should take moral responsibility and resign,” he said.
After his victory, Akoijam said his top priority was to ensure that the people displaced in the conflict returned to their homes and lived a normal and dignified life.
“It is a clear mandate against those people who have threatened Manipur. This is a clear message by the people not to take the state for granted. The people have spoken. I have fought this election for my state. Now we should all come together,” he said.
“We have a crisis in the state for the one last year. People are homeless. My top priority is to ensure that those people go back and live a normal and dignified life, and this crisis is resolved,” said Akoijam, a professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.
He urged his supporters to restrain themselves from celebrating the victory as along with the conflict the state was hit by a flood.
Akoijam’s rival Basantakumar is a state cabinet minister, holding the portfolios of Education, and Law & Legislative Affairs. PTI CORR SOM
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