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One civilian was injured after the firing and clashes were reported at a polling booth in Moirangkampu Sajeb Awang Leikai of Imphal, Manipur, during voting in the Lok Sabha elections on Friday.
Block Level Officer for Moirangkampu, Sajeb Surbala Devi said, "Suddenly two men came here and asked for polling agents of the Congress and the BJP. They took the Congress agent outside by holding his hand. Then the two men fired shots from inside the car. One person got injured." Meanwhile, Presiding Officer Vimal Chandra said that security was alright early in the morning but since the violence erupted, it feels very risky. "This happened around 2:40 PM. There may be some proxy voting and that's why it happened...It (violence) was from the public side, they want re-poll. Approximately 60 per cent of votes are polled and we have closed it now. Security was alright early in the morning but since the violence erupted, it feels very risky. No one is injured, only some VVPAT units are damaged." Voting closed at 4 PM, in Manipur," he said. Manipur Chief Electoral Officer, Pradeep Jha, on the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections said that he has received a few reports of some damage to the EVMs, some criminal intimidation or somebody trying to influence the voters. "Polling is almost in respect of the polling stations that were supposed to go to for polls today. People turned out in large numbers. Till the last report that we have received, the polling percentage has been around 67%. However, the percentage is likely to go up once we get the final report from all the polling stations and all the districts. Polling has remained by and large peaceful except for certain incidents that were reported from a few districts. We have received a few reports of some damage to the EVMs, some criminal intimidation or somebody trying to influence the voters. We are seeking reports from the districts and necessary action be taken once the reports are received... Our preparation for the second phase, which is going to happen on the 26th of April, also will start working on that now," Pradeep Jha said. Polling started at 7 am on Friday and continued until 4 pm. All 32 assembly segments of the Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency and 15 assembly segments of the Outer Manipur (ST) Parliamentary Constituency voted for the Lok Sabha. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP's Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh won the seat that had been the Congress stronghold for the three preceding elections, as Dr Thokchom Meinya emerged victorious in 2014, 2009 and 2004. During the 2019 elections, the Inner Manipur seat witnessed a voter turnout of 81.12 per cent. BJP's Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh turned the tide in 2019 by bagging 2,63,632 votes. He won against Congress' Oinam Nabakishore Singh, who attained 245,877 votes. The voting for the remaining 13 segments of Outer Manipur will be held in the second phase on April 26. (ANI)
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