None of the candidates who cleared scrutiny for the two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur have withdrawn their names. The window for the withdrawal of candidature ended at 3 pm on Saturday. A total of 10 candidates are in the fray this time. Among them, six are contesting from the Inner Manipur seat and four from the Outer Manipur constituency. The candidates for the Inner Manipur constituency are BJP’s Thounaojam Basantakumar, Congress’s Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, Maheshwar Thounaojam of the Republican Party of India (Athawale), and three Independent candidates – R K Somendro, Moirangthem Tomtomsana Nongshaba and Haorungbam Sarat. The candidates for Outer Manipur are the Congress’s Alfred Kanngam S Arthur, Kachui Timothy Zimik of the Naga People’s Front (NPF), and two Independent candidates – Dr Alyson Abonmei and S Kho John. Altogether 11 candidates filed their nomination papers but the nomination of Ngasepam Nilakanta was rejected by the Returning Officer. The polls for the Inner Manipur seat will be held on April 19. The Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency will go to the polls in the second phase on April 26. Over 20 lakh voters, including 9,79,678 men and 10,46,706 women, are eligible to cast their vote in the northeastern state. There are 2,955 polling stations in Manipur.
