Intending candidate quits Congress after being denied ticket for Manipur polls

Correspondent
Imphal, Jan. 28 (EMN): The Congress party’s decision to forge a pre-poll alliance with five political parties for the upcoming assembly elections in Manipur has evoked negative reaction from one of its intending candidates who quit the party after being denied the ticket.

Upset by the Congress’ move not to contest in Khurai assembly constituency in Imphal East district as part of seat-sharing deal, the party’s intending candidate Khuraijam Ratankumar Singh on Friday resigned from the grand old party and announced that he would join a national party to fight in the upcoming election.

The Khurai Block Congress Committee has also been dissolved following the resignation of Ratankumar.

Informing this, a functionary of the Khurai Block Congress Committee, who also resigned from the party, told the journalists that they had been working hard as ‘the congress was not in a good position in our block since the last few years’. But in spite of all our efforts, they had failed to acknowledge it, he lamented.

While announcing the pre-poll alliance with CPI, CPI (M), Revolutionary Socialist Party, Janata Dal (S) and Forward Block for the upcoming Manipur polls on Thursday, Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Nameirakpam Loken Singh had said that the Congress would support the CPI candidate in Khurai while the two parties would have a ‘friendly contest’ in Kakching constituency.

CPI is fielding RK Amusana for the Khurai assembly constituency.

The Congress party had last week announced 40 candidates in its first list for the assembly elections in Manipur which will be held on February 27 and March 3.

The National People’s Party has also announced 20 candidates for the upcoming polls in Manipur but the ruling BJP and its ally NPF are yet to do so.