Imphal: In a significant political development, the Congress candidates wrested both the Lok Sabha seats in Manipur from the ruling BJP and its ally Naga People's Front (NPF) on Saturday. Despite trailing after the initial rounds of counting, Congress' Angomcha Bimol Akoijam won the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat after defeating BJP candidate and state Education Minister Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh by a margin of 1,09,801 votes
In the tribal reserve Outer Manipur parliamentary seat, Congress' Alfred Kanngam S. Arthur defeated NPF nominee Kachui Timothy Zimik by a margin of 85,418 votes. Akoijam is a professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, while Arthur is a former MLA from the Ukhrul Assembly constituency. Both were consensus nominees of the 10-party alliance in Manipur.
Arthur (50) belongs to the Tangkhul-Naga community, while Akoijam (57) belongs to the Meitei community.
Soon after getting elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time, Arthur celebrated his birthday at the Congress Bhavan in Imphal where former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, state Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh, and senior party leaders wished him.
Six candidates contested the Inner Manipur seat, while four aspirants were in the fray for the Outer Manipur seat, which is dominated by people belonging to the Naga and Kuki-Zomi tribes.
The two Lok Sabha seats in violence-ravaged Manipur were held in two phases on April 19 and April 26. (IANS)
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