Booth capturing. Gun violence. Vandalism. Burning of EVMs. Polling agents threatened.
The Valley areas of Manipur saw it all on 19 April during the first phase of voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in India.
The key contest is between the BJP’s Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh and Angomcha Bimol Akoijam of the Congress (who spoke to The Quint about the violence, mentioned later on in the report).
The disruptions come amid a year-long ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities that has led to a de facto partition of the state. Chief Minister Biren Singh has been heavily criticised for his inability to curtail what is now considered to be a civil war.
Booth Capturing Plagues Voting in Imphal
Murmurs about booth capturing had begun the night before voting. The controversial Meitei group, the Arambai Tenggol, has been accused of intimidating polling agents and voters, and resorting to gunfire to achieve the same.
One old woman, whom The Quint met at Khongman Zone lV in Imphal, said that she was in the voting queue, and when she went to cast her vote, she saw that her whole family’s vote had already been cast.
“I saw people who looked like Arambai Tenggol. I am not sure. They have denied me my right to vote. How can they do that? Let any candidate win but how can they take away my right to vote?!”
Her video testimony is attached below. Another woman in the group claimed that the men were armed.
A group of women speak to The Quint about booth capturing at Khongman Zone lV.
(Photo: The Quint)
At Khongman Zone lV, voters claimed that "other agents" were inside the polling booths, pressing the buttons for them. This made them so angry that they broke the EVM.
Angry voters destroyed an EVM machine in Khongman Zone lV.
(Photo: The Quint)
In the adjacent booth, in Khongman Zone V, two men were seen asking an Election Commission observer to “conduct the vote again.” The men refused to talk any further on the record.
Khongman comes under the Thongju Assembly constituency. Voting went on till late in the evening after the people demanded a revote. Sources told The Quint that the constituency’s MLA Thongam Biswajit Singh supervised the evening vote.
In Khongman Zone V, people voted late into the evening after a revote was called.
(Photo: The Quint)
Gun Violence, One Shot
There were at least two incidents of firing during the day.
At the polling station in Moirangkampu Mayai Leikai, Imphal East, one person, identified as Khoisnam Sanayaima (65), sustained injuries in the shooting. He is being treated at Raj Medicity Hospital. Fingers have been pointed at the Arambai Tenggol.
At this polling station, angry voters burnt the EVMs at the station to protest the shooting and the booth capturing. The Quint even saw two bullet case shellings on the site of the shooting.
A burnt EVM at Moirangkampu Mayai Leikai, Imphal East.
(Photo: The Quint)
Bullet casings at Moirangkampu Mayai Leikai, Imphal East.
(Photo: The Quint)
"Do you see what the double engine is doing," one voter said sarcastically.
In another incident, there was gun firing in Thamanpokpi in Moirang, Bishnupur district. The Quint spoke to an eye-witness in front of the polling station at Thamanpokpi Upper Primary School.
She said, “It all happened around 9 in the morning. We were standing in line to vote and then the firing started. We did not know who was firing. We all ran away in fear. By 1 pm, things calmed down, and now people are voting again.”
Indeed, The Quint visited Thamanpokpi polling station at around 2 pm, and people were standing in line to vote.
Thamanpokpi polling station in Moirang, Bishnupur district.
(Photo: The Quint)
In a Facebook post, Arambai Tenggol has denied the allegations.
'Punch For Candidate Number Two'
In another incident of booth capturing, a woman told The Quint after exiting the polling booth that they were not being allowed to vote for the candidate of their choice.
“The agents inside are asking us to punch only for candidate number two.”
This happened at a polling station in Haobam Marak in Naoriya Pakhanglakpa constituency.
At the same polling booth, The Quint witnessed a group of men suspected to be belonging to Arambai Tenggol drive up to the polling station, after which they got off and took a short tour, leaving shortly afterwards. The jeep had no license plate.
'They are Scared,' Says Bimol Akoijam
Congress candidate Bimol Akoijam told The Quint:
“I am propped up by the people’s dissatisfaction and anger. And I happen to be the symbol of that. It’s not me. I am a symbol for the people. If they were confident that they would win fair and square, then they would not indulge in this. This is unprecedented in Imphal, in fact, in all of the Valley areas. The state of affairs in this country is such that public trust in our institutions has completely eroded. On any other day, I would have expected the ECI to come out clean. I cannot say that today. I hope the people can distinguish between the Meitei community and the Arambai Tenggol. In the last 11 months or so, the Arambai Tenggol is equated with the Meitei community but that is not how it is.”
Meanwhile, the hill districts of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi saw low voter turnout. The report will be updated when the exact figures are out.
As previously reported by The Quint, the decision of the Kuki-Zo people to vote has been influenced by the directives of organisations like the ITLF or the Kuki Inpi.
[For almost a year now, Manipur has been torn apart by ethnic violence. Hundreds have died, and thousands have been displaced, with their future still uncertain. As Manipur votes for the two Lok Sabha seats starting 19 April, and with the one-year mark of the violence approaching right after on 3 May 2024, The Quint is going back to ground zero in pursuit of facts, untold stories, and the truth. As we hit the ground again, we would like to hear from you on what you think we should cover and investigate in our reports from Manipur. Send us your suggestions — and we will do our best to incorporate them. Apart from the risks involved in reporting from a conflict-ridden area, such reports require both time and resources. YOUR support helps us in our endeavour.]
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