In Manipur, Meiteis and Kukis-Zomis find common ground — choosing Congress

The two seats of Manipur do not have any major influence in shaping national outcomes in the Lok Sabha polls. However, the Congress winning these seats, both of which were formerly held by the National Democratic Alliance, is a significant political consequence of the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state.

The two seats of Manipur voted in two phases on 19 and 26 April. The voting took place days before the state marked a full year since ethnic clashes first began, killing over 200 people and displacing over 50,000.

For the state, the conflict between Meiteis — who make up most of the electorate in the Inner Manipur seat, and the Kuki-Zomis who, along with the Nagas, make up for a significant portion of the voters in the Outer Manipur seat reserved for tribal — became the focus of this election.

Both groups involved in the conflict appear to have consolidated behind the Congress owing to the widespread resentment against the BJP-led Centre and state governments’ handling of the conflict.

In the Inner Manipur seat, Jawaharlal Nehru University associate professor A. Bimol Akoijam, who made his political debut this election on a Congress ticket, won by a margin of one lakh votes against the BJP’s Th. Basanta Kumar Singh, a minister in the state’s Biren Singh cabinet.

In 2019, the seat had been won by the BJP’s R.K. Ranjan Singh.

Speaking to reporters after his win, Akoijam said that the victory signified “a clear message — don’t take the people of this state for granted”.

“I’m here for my state. I have fought this election in the name of my state… We have a crisis. My priority is that the people (who) have been homeless for one year should go back and live a normal dignified life. This must be done. (Doing that) will be my first