Manipur Lok Sabha election: Over 65 pc turnout recorded till 5 pm

Imphal (Manipur): A total of 68.62 per cent of the over 15.44 lakh voters exercised their franchise for the two Lok Sabha seats in the ethnic violence-affected Manipur on Friday, the officials said.

The Inner Manipur constituency recorded 72.32 per cent polling, while the turnout in Outer Manipur is 61.98 pc, the Election Commission of India said.

Manipur Chief Electoral Officer, Pradeep Jha, however, said that the percentage is likely to go up once the officials get the final report from all the polling stations and all the districts.

"Polling is almost over 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 received, the polling percentage was around 67 per cent. However, the percentage is likely to go up once we get the final report from all the polling stations and all the districts," he said.

One of the two constituencies in the northeastern state of Manipur--Inner Manipur--consists of 32 assembly sections, which have over 9.37 lakh voters.

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.

An altercation broke out between locals and unidentified miscreants in the Thongju assembly constituency under the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat, while the elections were underway.

Manipur Chief Electoral Officer said that the district administrations have been asked for reports. He further said that the action would be taken against those involved in the altercation.

"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," Pradeep Jha added.

On being asked about the second phase of the Lok Sabha Elections, Jha said, "Our preparation for the second phase, which is going to happen on the 26th of April, will also start working on that now."