Imphal: There is a straight fight between renowned rights activist Irom Sharmila and Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the second and last phase of Manipur polls tomorrow in 22 Assembly constituencies.
An impressive numbers of voter turnout in the first phase of the Assembly polls which covers 38 seats during the polling. Now all eyes are on the Thoubal constituency where Sharmila is contesting election against the chief minister.
A total of 98 candidates are contesting on 22 constituencies which are spread across the valley districts of Thoubal and the hill districts of Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati.
The voting for the second and final phase will start at 7 AM on about 1,151 polling stations amid tight security.
The Election Commission has made elaborate security arrangement by deploying 280 companies of central forces for a free and fair conduct of the elections.
In this second phase of polling, the state has near about 19,02,562-strong voters comprising of 9,28,573 male and 9,73,989 female voters. With around 45,642 new voters has been registered this time.
In last phase of Manipur polls tomorrow, its Sharmila vs Ibobi
The fate of almost all the big names will be sealed in the state’s politics such as Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Deputy Chief Minister M Gaikhangam, rights activist-turned politician Irom Chanu Sharmila and others in this second phase.
This time elections in Manipur are billed as a crucial test for the 15-year-old Congress regime which is facing a hard challenge from the BJP.
In the first phase, the BJP leaders criticised the ruling Congress for its alleged failure to solve the over three-month-long economic blockade paralysing the two national highways of the land-locked state.
It is important to notice that all eyes are on Sharmila who broke her 16-year fast last year and floated a party of her own-the ‘Peoples’ Resurgence and Justice Alliance’ to fight the Assembly elections in her quest to get the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act-AFSPA revoked.
