"Voting ended peacefully in Manipur," says poll official

The Voting for the remaining part of the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency ended peacefully, officials said on Friday.

The voting for the remaining part of the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency ended peacefully for the second phase on Friday, officials said. Voting was held for the remaining part of the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency on Friday.

Police used drones for surveillance in the Ukhrul district prior to the second phase. Ukhrul comes under the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha Constituency. "Our polling station has ended the polling around 5:47 pm. Right now we are packing the VVPAT. We are getting ready to dispatch at our office," Presiding Officer Leiyami Kasar told ANI.

Replying to a query, he said, "It (voting) was all quite peaceful starting from the beginning till the end. In the village, people are quite cooperating. And we are happy to have ended the voting day". Senior citizens, including a 94-year-old woman, cast votes at a polling station in the Ukhrul district of Outer Manipur.

Naga People's Front's (NPF) Kachui Timothy Zimik is contesting against Congress's Alfred K Arthur here. Zimik told ANI that the people of the Manipur need peace and development as the two communties are fighting with each other.

"Winning is a certainty. The question is how big the margin will be. There are so many issues. I will be looking after each issue and will solve them... Two communities are having a big fight. This is one issue we have to address," he said. "We definitely believe these communities should come together and have a dialogue to bring peace... Our people need peace and development... As far as development is concerned, we need to address many issues...," Zimik aded.

Earlier, re-polling was held in 11 polling stations of the Inner Manipur constituency on April 22, after multiple incidents of violence were reported during the first phase of polling on April 19. Polling for the second phase in 88 seats across 13 states and Union Territories (UTs) ended at 6 pm.

The first phase of voting for the seven-phased general elections was conducted successfully on April 19 in 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories. According to the Election Commission, the overall voter turnout in the opening phase was recorded at over 62 per cent.

The next round of polling will be held on May 7. The counting of votes and results will be declared on June 4. (ANI)

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