The BJP confirmed its return to power in Manipur, with the party bagging 32 seats seats in the 60-member Assembly, according to the Election Commission website. As per the results, NPP, which is a part of the incumbent government, bagged seven seats and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) won six seats.
The Congress, on the other hand, decimated in its once-bastion. From being the single-largest party with 27 seats in 2017, the party managed to win only five seats.The Naga People’s Front and the Kuki People’s Alliance won five and two seats respectively.
Incumbent CM Biren Singh won from Heingang seat defeating his rival congress candidate by 18,271 votes. Thanking the people of Manipur for the victory, Singh said he is grateful for the victory, and added that BJP’s victory is a testament of people’s faith in Narendra Modi’s leadership.
The exit polls had predicted the ruling BJP would either emerge as the single largest party or cross the halfway mark. The 2017 Assembly polls in Manipur marked a crucial moment in the shift in power dynamics in the northeast. Though the Congress had emerged as the single largest party as it won 28 seats in the 60-member house, the BJP with 21 seats got the support of four MLAs each from the Naga People’s Front and the National People’s Party and one from the Lok Janshakti Party and an independent to reach the magic figure of 31. Most polls predicted that the NPP and NPF could repeat or better their 2017 performance.