Cong candidate Dwijamani wins Manipur by-poll

Correspondent IMPHAL, OCTOBER 20 After their good show in the last Lok Sabha elections, the Indian National Congress (INC) party on Monday won the by-election to the prestigious Hiyanglam assembly seat in Manipur’s Thoubal district. INC candidate Elangbam Dwijamani beat his nearest rival Dr. Y Radheshyam of All India Trinamool Congress by 1,829 votes in the October 17 by-poll. Dwijamani polled 9,008 votes and Radheshyam 7,179 votes, informed Ch Noyon Singh, District Information Officer of Thoubal. Dwijamani, who was elected as an MLA from Hiyanglam in 2007 assembly election by defeating M Kunjo of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) by a margin of 385 votes, had earlier contested unsuccessfully from the constituency in 2012 elections as he lost to Kunjo by just 17 votes. Kunjo’s son Maibam Dhanabir of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was placed third with 6,306 votes while Manipur People’s Party (MPP) candidate M Amutombi got 615 votes. The MPP candidate was followed by Manipur State Congress Party’s Th Laiba with 93 votes. Sources from the counting centre also disclosed that 46 voters opted for ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option. The day’s counting was conducted by 27 officials across nine tables. A total of 23,247 voters including 11,203 male and 12,044 females out of 24,492 voters of the constituency exercised their franchise. The Hiyanglam by-election was held following the sudden demise of sitting Trinamool MLA Maibam Kunjo on August 11 this year. With Dwijamani winning from the constituency, Congress has 48 MLAs now in the 60-member assembly, while opposition Trinamool has six legislators and Naga People’s Front has four. The NCP and Lok Janshakti Party have one legislator each. No Modi wave in Manipur: Gaikhangam Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam who is the president of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) said the by poll result of the Hiyanglam assembly seat clearly showed that there is no Modi wave in Manipur. “People continue to have the confidence on congress leadership in the state,” the Deputy Chief Minister said. MPCC is organising a reception function for the newly elected MLA E. Dwijamani tomorrow. The party earlier had the plan to organize the reception today in the afternoon but cancelled at the eleventh hour. “The confidence and sentiments of the people of Manipur is still with the Congress party. No party or organisation cannot survive without the support of the people,” Gaikhangam said while speaking to media at MPCC head quarters in Imphal this afternoon. Though the Congress party lost in Maharashtra and Haryana, the MPCC chief who also holds the home portfolio, said the Congress in Manipur has won the by-election of Hiyanglam AC because of the confidence of the people. Regarding the election result as quite satisfactory, the senior Congressman also thanked the people of Manipur for having their trust in the congress party. On INC party losing in some recent state elections, he said that leadership in states will keep on changing with times. “We the congress party accepts the verdict of the people,” he said but with the hope that the party will come back strongly.