Manipur’s election battleground on the path; 48.88% voters turnout till afternoon.
On Monday, February 28, voting in the first phase of Manipur elections began, with 38 out of 60 seats going to the polls, and a voter turnout of 48.88 percent was registered until 1 p.m.
Over 12 lakh voters will decide the fate of 173 candidates, 15 of them are women, in this phase. Between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., voters will be polled.
The first round of voting will take place in Imphal West, Imphal East, and Bishnupur in Manipur’s valley districts. The others are in the Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, and Pherzawl hill districts.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is optimistic about keeping power in the state, but it faces challenge from the ally-turned-foe National People’s Party, in addition to its old opponent Congress (NPP).
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma leads the NPP, which is proving to be a serious opponent in the state.
All polling stations have been sanitised, and outside the polling booths, circles have been drawn to allow voters to maintain social distance while waiting in line.
Other COVID practices must be followed at polling booths include wearing masks, using hand sanitizer, and undertaking thermal scanning.
