Amid complaints of voter intimidation, booth-capturing, and violence across several polling booths, the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in Manipur concluded on April 19 evening, with officials pegging the average turnout of the State’s two constituencies at 72.17%.
Three persons were arrested in connection with the violence.
While the Inner Manipur constituency reported a turnout of around 76.05%, parts of Outer Manipur saw 65.22% polling, as per provisional data from the Election Commission at 11.30 p.m. The turnout for Inner Manipur in the 2019 election was around 81%.
Voting will take place in the remaining places of Outer Manipur in the second phase on April 26.
Multiple poll officers in the State confirmed to The Hindu that there were several instances of electronic voting machines (EVMs) being damaged during disturbances at booths where re-polling may be called for. These instances were spread across three or four polling booths in a couple of districts, CEO Pradeep Kumar Jha said.
He added that candidates of the Congress, BJP and an Independent in the Inner Manipur seat had filed complaints of booth-capturing at multiple locations. He said the complaints would be examined and action taken.
On Friday night, the Manipur Police said that it had arrested three persons in connection with a firing incident at a school in Imphal in which one person had been injured.
In complaints sent to the poll panel, the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee has alleged booth-capturing, rigging of votes, and coercion of voters by armed miscreants in as many as 47 booths across 12 Assembly segments. Eleven of these segments were in the Inner Manipur seat such as Thongju, Khurai, Andro, Sekmai, Moirang, Oinam, Keirao and others. The party has sought a repoll in most of these polling booths. In Outer Manipur, the Congress complained of booth-capturing in voting centres of the Sugnu area.
Several incidents of booth-capturing were caught on videos that soon went viral on social media. Some of them showed armed men roaming around polling stations despite the presence of security forces while others showed miscreants firing multiple rounds near polling stations, following which prospective voters can be seen fleeing.
