Manipur CM flags threat to territorial integrity as Kukis call for autonomy

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, April 18

PM Narendra Modi may have given Manipur a miss but CM Biren Singh’s popularity with the Meitei crowd appears to have the BJP on a strong footing for the Lok Sabha polls in the state where ethnic violence has been going on for over 10 months now. During electioneering on Thursday, the CM, while targeting the Kuki demand for autonomy, appealed to people to vote for the BJP to keep the state’s “territorial integrity intact”, saying an attempt was being made to destroy the state by “changing its demography”.

Leads electioneering amid absence of PM

• Since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur, Modi visited the neighbouring Assam twice, while not paying heed to his party’s request to visit Manipur.
• CM Biren Singh has been leading the electioneering amid the PM’s absence.

The Inner Manipur constituency, dominated by the state’s majority Meitei community, will go to polls in the first phase of the elections tomorrow. Fifteen of the 28 Assembly segments of the Outer Manipur seat, reserved for scheduled tribes, will also see poling tomorrow. Polling for the remaining 13 Assembly segments of the Outer Manipur seat will take place on April 26.

PM Narendra Modi has been receiving flak from his political adversaries for remaining silent despite the clashes between the Meiteis and the Kukis have taken the form of a civil war, leading to loss of lives of hundreds of people and rendering thousands homeless.

Since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur, Modi visited the neighbouring Assam twice, including a pleasure trip to see the one-horned rhino at the Kaziranga National Park while not paying heed to his party’s request to visit Manipur or giving them an audience in New Delhi. Modi’s name was right at the top of the star campaigner list for Manipur submitted by the BJP to the ECI on March 27. However, the PM kept away from the riot-ravaged state.

The Congress has picked Angcomcha Bimol Akoijam, an academic associated with Jawaharlal Nehru University till recently, as its candidate for the Inner Manipur seat. There are four others contesting from the Lok Sabha constituency, including two popular actors — Maheshwar Thounaojam and RK Somendro. The BJP has dropped the incumbent MP, RK Ranjan Singh, and fielded T Basanta Kumar Singh in Inner Manipur.

The anti-BJP vote is expected to get distributed among Akoijam, Maheshwar and Somendra. Biren Singh, on the other hand, is believed to be in a position to exploit the Meitei sentiments and rally the Meitei voters behind BJP’s Basanta Kumar Singh.

Incidentally, some people are of the view that Kukis are also likely to back the BJP as they expect the BJP to retain power in Delhi and help their cause in Manipur. Kuki majority areas, such as Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Tamenglong, etc., fall in the Outer Manipur constituency. The BJP is supporting Naga Peoples Front (NPF) candidate K Timothy Zimik in the seat. It is unclear how much Zimik will benefit from the Kuki support as multiple Kuki organisations have appealed to Kukis to abstain from voting.