First Phase Voting: AFSPA, Unemployment To Decide Fate Of Manipur?

The Manipur Assembly Elections began on Monday. It will be held in two phases, February 28 and March 5. The first phase of elections is being held across five districts  --  Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Churachandpur, and Kangpokpi and in 38 of 60 Assembly seats. The polling that takes place between 7 am to 4 pm will decide the fate of 173 candidates, out of which 15 are women. Some of the key constituencies are Heingang, Lamlai, Yaiskul, and Bishenpur. And one of the key candidates is Chief Minister N Biren Singh. 

As many as 12,09,439 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to elect their representatives across 1,721 polling stations. Manipur Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Agarwal has said that out of the total 173 candidates, 39 have criminal antecedents.

The prominent candidates in the fray include Chief Minister and BJP candidate N Biren Singh, Assembly Speaker Y Khemchand Singh, Deputy Chief Minister and NPP candidate Yumnam Joykumar and Manipur Congress president N Lokesh Singh.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hopeful of retaining the Northeast state. However, it faces a new threat from the ally-turned-foe National People's Party (NPP).

Less than half an hour after voting began in Manipur, Governor La Ganesan and Chief Minister N Biren Singh exercised their franchise in their respective constituencies.

The governor, after casting his vote at a polling booth in T G Higher Secondary School in Sagolband assembly constituency in Imphal West district, appealed to all eligible voters in Manipur to exercise their franchise.

The votes will be cast based on several issues that have long plagued the soil of Manipur.

The AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Power Act) debate, to begin with. Following the December 2021 killings of 14 people in Oting, demands to repeal AFSPA were all over the place. The AFSPA empowers security forces operating in “disturbed areas” to search, seize, arrest without warrant, and use firearms on mere suspicion, with impunity, which has reignited in the insurgency-affected Manipur too. Manipur has been declared a “disturbed area” since 2013 and AFSPA remains operational in most parts of the state. According to several reports and data, around 1,700 people have been killed in fake militancy attacks in Manipur over the past two decades.

However, the ruling party’s manifesto had no mention of repealing the AFSPA despite a growing demands in the state. Congress' Manipur in-charge Bhakta Charan Das accused the BJP of reducing AFSPA to an "organised violence" act to target citizens and asserted that the demand for its repeal was a "big issue" in Manipur but the BJP was "not respecting" people's views. Several leaders from various parties have pitched the idea of repealing the draconian law.

On Sunday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that his government in the state has ensured peace that has laid the foundation for the repeal of AFSPA in the future.

The Congress, which has promised to work towards the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, if voted to power in Manipur assembly polls, has slammed the BJP for being “silent” on the act in its manifesto.

Political instability in the state, for over five years, might be another deciding factor for citizens casting their votes. Manipur has seen several MLAs and leaders switching sides or getting disqualified, depriving people of their trust on strong political ground. 

Earlier, in an address to the press,  Janata Dal (United) national general secretary Afaque Ahmed Khan, said, “The people of Manipur have seen through the game of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was hand in glove with Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh in breaking parties to muster majority in the past five years,” adding, “The people are seething with anger and a wave of anti-incumbency is sweeping through Imphal Valley and the hills against the ruling party. The people are bent on teaching the ruling party a lesson by showing it, its rightful place in the election.”

Besides, the BJP government’s failure to table and pass the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill, 2021, has also angered many people in the state. 

Unemployment has also become one of the most dominant issues in the state. After Nagaland, Manipur has the second-highest unemployment rate in the Northeast. The unemployment rate in Manipur is 9.5 per cent, according to the union labour ministry’s data tabled in parliament last year, and the Covid-19 pandemic has made it worse.

The issue around Schedule Tribe status to the Meitei community is one more. The community which comprises 57 per cent of the population, has been demanding the ST status for years now. The community, which is majorly Hindu, was granted the OBC (Other Backward Classes) status in 1991. However, they feel that the ST status will help them protect their lands in the Imphal valley and grant them jobs through reservation. 

They allege that with the introduction of the rail network in Manipur and the entry of MNCs, more lands of the Meitei community will be taken away, leaving them with no source of income. Unfortunately, the issue has found no mention in manifestos of any large parties.

(with inputs from agencies)