Manipur election survey: BJP to unseat ruling Congress; spreads its wings in northeast India

It looks like the BJP is charting the right path to fulfill its agenda of a Congress-Mukt northeast India. After winning the assembly elections in Assam handsomely earlier this year, the saffron party is all set to come to power in Manipur.

If Manipur goes to polls today, the BJP will unseat the Congress by winning 31-35 seats, an opinion poll showed on Friday.

The India Today-Axis Opinion Poll on Manipur says the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress may not win more than 19-24 seats in the forthcoming state elections.

If the prediction comes true, Manipur will be the second northeastern state after Assam to turn saffron.

"That is a huge dent in the state so far dominated by Congress, which had more than 50 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly. However, with less than six months to go for the polls, as many as four Congress legislators have resigned from the party," stated the election survey report.

"Also, more people (37 per cent) in the state agree with the BJP's mission of a Congress-free India than disagree (33 per cent). Nearly 30 per cent voters were not sure if a Congress-Mukt Bharat is a good idea," added the election survey report.

What ails Manipur?

According to an opinion column, published by the local Manipuri website E-Pao, issues like the inner line permit system, territorial integrity and schedule tribe demand by various groups, to name a few, will decide how the voters will vote in the Valley region of the state.

While the demand for a separate state put up by sections of Kuki rebel groups and the long pending settlement with the NSCN-IM will decide the fate of the political parties in the Hill districts.

OneIndia News