Congress will bag 9 seats in Thoubal, Kakching:Ex CM Ibobi Singh

Imphal: Former Chief Minister and CLP leader Okram Ibobi exuded confidence that the grand old party will win nine seats out of the 10 Assembly Constituencies in Thoubal and Kakching districts if the elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.

Ibobi while talking to reporters at his Thoubal Athokpam residence after casting his vote said that the ruling BJP as its last option resorted to flexing muscle and money power to capture power by hook or by crook. He asserted that such malicious efforts of the BJP won’t last long as the people are not going to get influenced by the cheap politics adopted by the saffron party.

Terming the claim made by the BJP that the saffron party will win above 40 seats out of the total 60 in the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly Election as a tall claim, Ibobi said that truth will come out on March 10 when the election results are declared. Unlike the BJP, the Congress is not inclined to make such tall claims. The grand old party believes in development politics, the Congress leader said.

The BJP claimed that they will bag 30 seats out of the 38 Assembly Constituencies, of which the elections were held in the first phase. The saffron party will win only 12-14 seats out of the 38 if the negative impression of the public and pulse on the performance of Chief Minister Biren and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are taken into consideration, Ibobi contended.

Ridiculing the repeated visits of Union Ministers of the BJP-led government at the Centre, the former Chief Minister said that many Union Ministers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah visited the State every alternate day to canvass votes for its candidates as the saffron party has foreseen defeat in the election. During the tenure of the UPA government, the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh visited the State only once with a development package, he added.