IMPHAL, May 16 � Though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the country, both the sitting Congress MPs of Manipur Dr Thokchom Meinya Singh and Thangso Baite retained their seats by defeating their nearest rivals on Friday.
However, no official announcement has been made in connection with the results till the report goes to the press.
With 2,92,102 votes, Dr Meinya is all set to retain his Inner Manipur parliamentary seat comprising 32 Assembly segments in four valley districts by defeating his nearest rival CPI candidate Dr M Nara Singh by a margin of 94,674 votes. Baite secured 2,96,618 votes against Naga People�s Front (NPF) candidate Soso Lorho who got 2,81,121 votes. Meinya won by a narrow margin of about 15,497 votes, according to reports from CEO Manipur office.
The BJP candidates Prof Gangmumei Kamei and Dr RK Ranjan secured the third positions in the Outer and Inner seats. Ranjan got a total of 92,443 votes while Gangmumei received 75,815 votes.
�We respect the people�s verdict. We also accept our weakness in taking up awareness programmes at the grassroots level�, said BJP Manipur Pradesh secretary (Media Affairs) L Bashanta. But BJP�s performance this time was much better than in the previous Lok Sabha polls.
The Trinamool Congress, Manipur Democratic People�s Front, Aam Aadmi Party, Jai Mahabharat party, Nationalist Congress Party, NPF, JD(U), CPM and Independents had also contested the polls.
