IMPHAL, April 17: The Communist Party of India and its constituent parties of Secular Alliance has today demanded re-poll in two polling stations of the No II Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency.
CPI candidate, Dr M Nara said he has submitted complaints to the CEO and election observer demanding repoll at two polling stations and disqualification of INC candidate Dr Th Meinya.
Charging of EVM manipulation and proxy voting at Polling Booth No 31/12 Thoubal Leishangthem Thoudam of Thoubal district and Polling Booth No 17/7 Khongampat of Lamshang Assembly Constituency, Dr M Nara demanded re-poll at the two polling stations.
He said at the 31/12 Polling Station in Thoubal assembly constituency, 771 voters had casted their votes however, there were 773 votes on the EVM.
Addressing media persons this late afternoon at the party’s office, Irawat Bhawan, Nara said at the 31/12 Thoubal Leishangthem Thoudam polling booth, Congress workers had arranged a feast for the polling officials on duty, thereby amounting to breaking of the election code of conduct.
He said the CPI election agent at the booth was threatened by Congress workers and forced to leave the station.
Nara asserted that while the station look peaceful from the outside, Congress workers had taken over inside and continued with proxy voting.
People had complained to him that they were not even allowed to enter the polling station, Nara lamented.
Only after he went to the station and complained, the security personnel drove away the Congress workers from inside the polling station, Nara continued.
Meanwhile, after receiving repeated and similar complaints from his workers at Polling Booth No 17/7 Khongampat of Lamshang Assembly Constituency, he drove again to the polling booth, he said.
He further charged that there were complaints that INC candidate stayed at the said polling station for quite a long time.
Nara said he himself met the INC candidate at the polling station.
When I enquired what he was doing at the polling station for such a long time, which is against the election code of conduct, Meinya has replied that since polling was about to end, he will leave only after it gets concluded, Nara said.
While he was talking with the INC candidate, a brief eruption occurred between Congress and CPI workers, he continued. He further charged that Congress continued campaigning for its candidate till yesterday night.
“They are all violators of democracy and they are manipulators. This is unfair, I felt sorry and submitted a complaint demanding repoll and disqualification of Dr Th Meinya.”
The press conference was also attended by representatives of the Left and Secular Alliance.