The state of Manipur will be one of the first regions to vote in India's general election on Friday (April 19), but the streets of the tiny, violence-torn state are largely quiet. Many residents say there is widespread disappointment over the inability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to end what critics have called a mixture of anarchy and civil war.

Manipur

The election campaign in Manipur, a region set to be among the first to vote in India's general election, is noticeably subdued due to prevailing fear among its residents. The state, described as tiny and torn by violence, has seen its streets largely quiet in the lead-up to the elections. Many locals express a widespread disappointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, criticizing it for its failure to resolve the ongoing crisis in the state. This crisis has been termed by some as a blend of anarchy and civil war.



Fear hinders election campaign in India's war-torn Manipur

The streets of Manipur, a tiny violence-torn state in India's Far East, are quiet, despite the world's most populous nation heading to a general election. Its 3.6 million residents will be some of the first to vote in the seven-phase election on Friday, but campaigning is being held behind closed doors due to fears of violence. Conflict in the state first broke out over the potential extension of affirmative action rights available to the Kukis people, who form 16 per cent of the state's population, to the dismay of the majority Metis, who make up 53 per cent. Residents like Francis Kesham are disappointed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over failure to end what critics have called a mix of anarchy and civil war. He lives in a refugee camp with his wife and two children, displaced by the conflict in which at least 220 people have been killed since May. What is he still doing right now? Is Manipur not part of India or what? Are we not in the Indian city or what? The fighting between the Metis and the tribal Kukizo people divides the region into two enclaves, separated by a stretch of no-man's land, monitored by federal paramilitary forces. Modi's government has blamed the unrest on a refugee influx caused by the 2021 coup in neighbouring Myanmar, and recently announced an end to a decades-old policy allowing free movement of people living along the 1,000-mile border. While opinion polls point to a win for Modi, critics say Manipur, governed by Modi's own BJP party, is a rare security and image failure for him. Despite the party and its ally holding the area's two seats, Manipur has little impact on national politics, and the BJP's manifesto does not even mention the state. That hasn't stopped BJP candidate, through now-gym Basanta Kumar, getting out on the campaign trail. We have to look at someone, a candidate, who would be a part of the government at the centre and also convince the centre that this needs early resolution, we need extra funds to resettle them back. A candidate for the opposition Congress party, NGOMCHA Bemao Akhoijam, is promising to remove the BJP. I have said the inaction of the government of India itself is an action that has aggravated the country. However, many people in Manipur say they will still vote for Modi and the BJP. Mateys because they have got support from the BJP-led state government, and kookies because they expect the BJP to win power in New Delhi, and will, therefore, be in a position to give them some relief.

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