Manipur Election Dates 2022: Voting in 2 phases on Feb 27 & March 3; results on March 10

Ending the anticipation of people and political parties, the Election Commission of India released a full schedule for the upcoming polls in Manipur. As per the Election Commission, the polls will be held in two phases in the state. The 60 constituencies in the state will be divided into two sets, one for each phase. While the polling phases in the state remain the same as in 2017, the Election Commission has proposed to increase the number of booths in each constituency in order to avoid overcrowding and to mitigate the spread of the virus. The results of the 2022 polls will be announced on March 10.

As per the revised electoral lists, there are more than 20 lakh voters in the state. Female voters account for 10,49,639 of the state's 20,34,966 total voters, compared to 9,85,119 male votes. Female voters outnumber male voters by 64,520. There are 208 third-gender voters in the state.

2017 Manipur Election Results

Despite Congress' victory, BJP thwarted its plans of forming a government by forging a post-poll alliance with the National People's Party, the Naga People's Front and LJP. Manipur will be electing new faces to its 60 membered Legislative Assembly, forming a new government that will be ruling the state for the coming five years. The north-eastern state is currently ruled by the BJP CM N Biren Singh as the BJP rose to power for the first time in the state after forming an alliance with the regional parties in 2017. In the 2017 Manipur Assembly election, Congress emerged as the single-largest party by winning 28 seats in the 60-member House whereas BJP bagged 21 seats.

The N Biren Singh-led government faced a mid-term crisis on June 17, 2020, when 9 MLAs, including the Deputy CM withdrew support to the ruling coalition. However, it barely managed to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly on August 10 as 8 Congress MLAs stayed away from the Assembly proceedings despite the party issuing a whip to vote against the trust motion moved by the Chief Minister. The government was supported by 28 members, including the 4 NPP MLAs on the floor of the Assembly. 

The Election Commission of India on Saturday declared the full schedule of the polls scheduled to be held in five states, including Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa. Amid the rising COVID-19 cases across the country, the Election Commission has kept safety protocols in mind while designing the poll schedule. 

Image: Republic World