Voting ends in Manipur amid reports of disturbances
Voting for the Lok Sabha election concluded in Manipur as 13 of the Assembly segments in the State’s Outer Manipur constituency went to the polls in the second phase of polling on Friday, amid sporadic complaints of disturbances reported at polling stations in Ukhrul and Senapati districts.
The Assembly segments that voted on Friday recorded a turnout of around 78.78% as of 11.30 p.m.
“These areas have polling stations in very remote areas so the polling parties’ return will take time. Once all of them return, we can have nal turnout numbers,” the Chief Electoral O¥cer of Manipur, Pradeep Kumar Jha, said.
Mr. Jha said that an electronic voting machine was damaged in at least one polling station of the Ukhrul district, where a prescribed examination process by the o¥cials will determine the need for a re-poll.
Sources, however, added that four more polling stations in Ukhrul saw “disturbances” that might have vitiated the polling process there.
They also reported complaints of some people entering the Oinam Hill polling stations in Senapati district, where attempts were made to damage
EVMs.
“Three of the four polling stations in Oinam Hill were examined and it was found that results were retrievable. The fourth polling station of that location is being examined,” one source said.
Poll o¥cials, however, added that voting in the Outer Manipur constituency had been relatively more peaceful than in the 2019 election, when repolling had to be ordered for 19 polling stations.
Vandalism incidents
On Friday, several videos and photos emerged on social media, showing polling stations in Ukhrul vandalised.
Some of the pictures showed what appeared to be VVPAT slips strewn across the §oor of a polling station with the EVM enclosure of the Election Commission lying on the ground.
In a video that was also posted on ◣ (formerly Twitter) by Congress general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh, it could be seen that some people were appearing to intimidate voters at an Ukhrul polling station to vote for a particular party in the presence of security personnel.
In the accompanying post, Mr. Ramesh alleged that the voters were being pressured to vote for the Naga People’s Front (NPF) candidate Kachui Timothy Zimik, with whom the Bharatiya Janata Party in Manipur has allied for this Lok Sabha election, choosing not to eld its own candidate on Outer Manipur.
“The security forces are standing there mutely as our democracy is hijacked. These are the most important elections of our lifetime,” Mr. Ramesh said in his post.