Manipur: NPP announces first list of 20 candidates for Assembly polls

The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) on Monday released its first list of 20 candidates for the Manipur Assembly election due to be held on February 27 and March 3.

While all the three sitting MLAs, including Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar, are being fielded again, only two women have got the party tickets. Two candidates are from hill districts.

In the Chandel assembly constituency, whose sitting MLA, Letpao Haokip, had recently joined the BJP, the NPP has fielded his cousin Lunkhopao Haokip. Letpao, a minister, has announced his candidature from the neighbouring Tengnoupal constituency.

Joykumar, who is also the chairman of the party’s election committee, said a second list would be released by the end of January and that most candidates on the list would be for constituencies in the hill districts. Of the 60 seats in the Assembly, 20 are in the hill districts.

The NPP has yet to name a candidate for Heingang, Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s constituency.

Though ruling in alliance with the BJP, the party is going it alone in the polls. The party’s manifesto, released on Sunday, has listed withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act among its major agendas.