IMPHAL, March 3 � Exactly a month after the February 4 repoll at 34 polling stations, Manipur goes to re-poll at 67 polling stations under 9 Assembly seats across five hills districts � Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul tomorrow. Polling will be held between 7 am and 3 pm.
Re-polling will be held in 25 polling stations in Chandel (ST) seat and Tengnoupal (ST) in Chandel district,13 in Karong (ST), 10 in Tadubi (ST), 6 in Mao (ST), 2 in Saikul (ST), all in Senapati district, 8 in Tamei (ST) under Tamenglong district, one in Chingai (ST) under Ukhrul and Singhat (ST) in Churachandpur district. Electorates will recast their votes at Chowainamei Khullen A and B and Makhan centre of Tadubi seat.
A senior official of the State Election control room in Imphal told The Assam Tribune that every individual coming to cast votes during the re-poll would be frisked by security personnel and the polling officials have been assigned duties in order to ensure free and fair election without proxy votes and malpractices unlike the last round of polling.
Forty five companies of Central paramilitary forces and 20 companies of State forces will be utilised for repoll, sources added. Atleast one helicopter will also be requisitioned to meet emergency situation is any.
Exactly a month after February 4 repoll at 34 polling stations, fresh polling had been countermanded following complaints from 10 non-Congress political parties in connection with the detection of alleged malpractices in many polling stations in the January 28 Assembly polls.
Youth Affairs and Sports Minister DD Thaisii was seeking re-election from Karong seat on a Congress ticket and former Deputy Speaker K Raina from Tadubi seat on a Naga People�s Front ticket. Manipur, which has a 17.5 lakh-strong electorate, recorded a total poll percentage of around 80 per cent. The polling was marred by militant violence that claimed seven lives, including those of security personnel and a suspected militant.
In a separate incident this morning, unidentified individuals attacked the residence of a Congress candidate by exploding a powerful bomb in Manipur�s Imphal East district. The incident took place at the roadside wall of the Congress candidate Elangbam Chand of Yaiskul seat at Wangkhei Yonglan Leirak around 6.15 am.
There is no report of any causality during the explosion. Congress candidate Chand, reacting to the incident, told the media that he did not know the reason behind the attack.
