A Congress ticket aspirant escaped unhurt when miscreants allegedly fired at him in Manipur’s Ukhrul town on March 18.
Predominantly inhabited by the Nagas, Ukhrul – the town and the district beyond – was largely untouched by the ethnic violence that broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, and left more than 200 people dead.
K. Meghachandra, the president of the Manipur unit of Congress, said on Tuesday that unknown miscreants attempted to attack former MLA Alfred K. Arthur while he was addressing an election rally in Ukhrul. The latter is seeking a party ticket from the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency.
“The incident triggered panic among the people and left some who attended the rally traumatised. If people are intimidated, it is unlikely that the elections can be held in a free and fair manner,” Mr. Meghachandra said, asking the State government to take the incident seriously without any bias.
Monday’s was the fifth incident of violence in Manipur after the Election Commission of India announced the schedule of the parliamentary polls as well as Assembly elections in some States.
The Outer Manipur constituency, reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, is made up of 28 of Manipur’s 60 Assembly seats. Twenty of these Assembly seats are spread across the hills inhabited by the Nagas and the Kuki-Zomi people while the remaining eight are in the foothills of the Imphal Valley dominated by the non-tribal Meiteis.
The State’s only other Lok Sabha seat, Inner Manipur comprises 32 Assembly segments in the Imphal Valley.
