Manipur's first round of the election will decide the fate of many leaders

Polling for the first phase of the Manipur Assembly elections began at 7 a.m. today and will continue until 4 p.m. tomorrow, according to the Election Commission. Voting is taking place today in 38 seats in five districts, including Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Churachandpur, and Kangpokpi. According to the Election Commission, more than 12 lakh people would exercise their right to vote during the first round of the election process. There are a total of 60 assembly seats available in the state, and the remaining seats will be decided by popular vote on March 5.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the people of Manipur to turn out in large numbers to elect the correct candidate. He remarked on Twitter that he is particularly concerned about encouraging young people and first-time voters to utilize their right to vote.

In the first phase of the Manipur elections, a total of 173 candidates, including 15 women, are running for the position of governor. In the first round of voting, the BJP has fielded candidates in all 38 seats, the Congress has filed candidates in 35 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) has fielded candidates in 28 seats. After 20 years, the Janata Dal is once again contesting elections in Manipur. Aside from these, the National People's Party (NPP) of Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has filed candidates in 38 seats on the electoral roll. Previously, the party had formed a coalition with the BJP.

In the first phase, all eyes will be on the seats held by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, his cabinet minister Thomgam Vishwajit Singh, deputy chief minister and NPP candidate Yumnam Joykumar Singh, BJP leader Thokchom Satyavrat Singh, Congress leader K Ratan Kumar Singh, Akoijam Mirabai Devi, Lokeshwar Singh, Sarat Chandra Singh, and Janata Dal candidate and former police officer Thunaojam Brinda, among The BJP, has nominated Chief Minister N Biren Singh to run for the Hengang assembly seat, which he has held for decades.

As a result of the insurgency issue that exists in the state, special security procedures have been put in place at all voting stations. There are around 1,900 polling locations in the sensitive or hyper-sensitive category, which is a significant number.

It is expected that the results of the Manipur Assembly elections would be released on March 10. The results of the state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Goa will be announced on the same day as the national results. Electoral processes in Punjab, Goa, and Uttarakhand were completed on February 14, but elections in Uttar Pradesh are still scheduled for two stages. The fifth phase of voting in the state of Uttar Pradesh took place on February 27. The sixth and final round of voting will take place on March 3, and the seventh and final phase will take place on March 7.

Manipur has a total of 60 assembly seats, with no one political party gaining a clear majority in the 2017 elections. The Congress Party had won the most seats, 28 in total, but the BJP had gained ground to become the second-largest party, capturing 21 seats to the Congress's 28. A total of four seats were won by each of the Naga People's Front and the National People's Party. Following the elections, the BJP was able to create a government by coercing the participation of other parties, and N Biren Singh was appointed to the position of the chief minister.