300 companies of central forces for Manipur phase II

Amid tight security, 22 seats will go to assembly polls on Saturday in Manipur. Around 300 companies of central paramilitary forces are pressed in for the final phase where 8,47, 400 voters, including 4,28,968 women electors, would cast their votes in 1,247 polling stations to decide the electoral fate of 92 candidates including two women.

The second phase is spread across Thoubal, Jiribam, Chandel, Ukhrul, Senapati and Tamenglong districts except Thoubal which is in the valley. The rest of the areas are in the mountainous region of the state broadly stated as hills.

Saturday's election will decide the fate of three-time chief minister minister Okram Ibobi Singh. He is contesting from the Thoubal assembly seat. In this phase, Congress has not fielded candidates in Chandel, Mao, Tadubi, Tamenglong. To ensure a Covid-free election, mandatory sanitisation of the polling stations was done in all the six districts.


The first phase of polling was held in 38 seats on February 28, when 88.63% of the total of 12,09,439 voters exercised their franchise.

In the 2017 assembly polls, Congress emerged as the single largest party with 28 MLAs. in the 60-member assembly. Later, around eight Congress MLAs left the party. BJP won 21 seats. BJP got support from National People’s Party (NPP) and Naga People's Front (NPF) which won four seats each. One MLA each from Trinamool Congress, Lok Jan Shakti party and a lone independent member supported the state government.