Elections are being held in five states of the country- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur. As Manipur goes to the polls in two phases, all eyes will be on how many seats the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manages to bag in the state assembly and just how many it will have lost due to the manner in which former BJP faces have been sidelined to bring in former Congress dissidents, leading to widespread protest and mass resignations of party workers

The Congress in Manipur seems to be in dire straits as it prepares for the upcoming Assembly elections against the mighty BJP which has gained immense popularity over the years in the state.

Incumbent CM Biren Singh had sounded the poll bugle in the state and in Heingang Assembly Constituency from where he will be contesting the upcoming poll. In 2017, BJP's Nongthombam Biren Singh won the seat by defeating Pangeijam Saratchandra Singh of All India Trinamool Congress with a margin of 1206 votes. Uttarakhand Assembly Elections 2022: From Khatima To Lalkuan Vidhan Sabha Seat; Here Are Five Key Constituencies 

Heingang is an assembly constituency in Manipur which was won by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. This constituency falls under Imphal East district of Manipur State. As the tenure of the Manipur Assembly elected in 2017 is getting expired in March, the election commission announced the dates for Manipur polls earlier this month (January). Voting for the 60-seat Manipur assembly will be conducted in two phases on February 27 and March 3. Heingang Assembly Constituency will cast the ballot in the first phase i.e. February 27.

Lady super cop of Manipur police Thounaojam Brinda, who left her service career and is contesting polls from the Yaiskul constituency of Imphal East district from JDU ticket.

She is confident of her victory from the Yaiskul seat. “Congress is a dying party in Manipur, tried and tested. Yaiskul is a premium constituency and I represent a royal family. The characteristic of this constituency is such that it decides for the next election in the mid-term and this time too they have done that much ahead. The present MLA Thokchom Satyabrata Singh of BJP has not done much except for providing paper-thin blacktopping to the road. My challenge would be from the candidate from the Nationalist Peoples Party (NPP) rather than the BJP representation," said Thounaojam Brinda.

Thoubal Assembly seat is the seat from were senior Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur from 2002 to 2017 contested. Ibobi Singh was instrumental in helping his party win the state for the third time in 2012. Ibobi Singh was born in a poor family and helped his father in his business. He did his graduation from DM College, Imphal. He is married to Landhoni Devi, who has won twice in a row from Khangabok assembly in Thoubal district. She is also the first woman MLA from Thoubal district. Ibobi Singh is currently an MLA from Thoubal Assembly seat. In 2017 Ibobi Singh defeated Lantham Basant Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress once had a massive dominance over majority of seats in Manipur including the Bishnupur Constituency. But, the grand old party's grip over the seat has reportedly declined in past few years. To recall, in 2017, Indian National Congress candidate Konthoujam Govindas registered a landslide victory against BJP's Konthoujam Krishna Kumar Singh defeating the latter by 5278 votes. However, the saffron party is likely to put all its might in the upcoming polls as it eyes to achieve its 'Mission 40' target. The Saffron party has fielded Konthoujam Govindas Singh from Bishnupur.  Manipur Assembly Elections 2022: Security Tightened at BJP Office After Protests Over Ticket Distribution

The state of Manipur had always been a bastion of Indian National Congress, until 2017 when things took a turn and BJP’s Nongthombam Biren Singh scored a winning goal, snatching the chief minister’s chair from Okram Ibobi Singh. However, the prestigious Lamlai constituency of the state trusted the Congress party with Ksh. Biren Singh registering a thumping victory against his arch rival and BJP’s Khongbantabam Ibomcha.

This year, the Lamlai Assembly Constituency will cast the ballot on February 27, according to the dates announced by the Election Commission.

The polling for the 60-seat assembly seats will be held in two phases (February 27 and March 3) and the results will be announced on March 10.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 05, 2022 02:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).