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Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh cast his vote at a polling booth in Luwangsangbam Mamang Leikai, in Imphal East, in the ongoing first phase of polling for the 2024 general elections.
The state's two seats--Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur--are going to the polls today. On Thursday, on the eve of the election, the Chief Minister appealed to the people of Manipur to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to keep the state's "territorial integrity" saying an attempt was being made to destroy the state by "imbalancing its demography by infusing people from the outside." "Whatever Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the day before yesterday--to keep Manipur's territorial integrity intact. He used very meaningful words. An attempt was made to destroy Manipur by imbalancing its demography by infusing people from the outside. The Prime Minister removed the FMR (Free Movement Regime) and took the decision on fencing. That is the point that the Manipur people want to hear from the central leaders," he told ANI on Thursday. "I think what is to be done by the Central Government has started, and to complete the ongoing process, people need to vote for the BJP candidate. I am requesting that people should vote for the BJP," he added. In the first phase, voting is being held in the 102 constituencies spread across 21 states and Union Territories. There are over 16 crore people eligible to vote in the first phase. Polling for assembly elections in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim also started along with voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday morning. Arunachal will be polling for two Lok Sabha seats and the 60-member Assembly. Apart from Arunachal, Sikkim will vote for 32 assembly seats and a lone Lok Sabha seat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing ousting him from power. A total of 16.63 crore voters are going to vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, deciding the fate of 1625 candidates, with Nitin Gadkari, Kiren Rijiju, Bhupendra Yadav, and Arjun Ram Meghwal among several Union ministers in the fray. (ANI)
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