IMPHAL, October 22: The Manipur Pradesh Trinamool Congress Committee (MPTCC) is already preparing for a grand strategy to ensure a resounding success at the General Assembly elections in 2017 after losing the Hiyanglam assembly constituency seat to the Congress.
The first batch of the names of candidates who have bagged AITC tickets for the 2017 General Assembly elections will be announced on November 17 this year after the arrival of AITC general secretary here in Imphal, MPTCC president Thounaojam Shyamkumar said today.
He was speaking at a press meet at the MPTCC office in Moirangkhom this morning where he further extended his warm greetings to the people ahead of the Hindu`™s festival of lights, `Diwali`, and the biggest festival of the Meiteis, Ningol Chakkouba.
`The press meet is the first being held after the result of the recent Hiyanglam bye-poll was announced. Though the MPTCC suffered defeat in the Hiyanglam bye-poll at the hands of the Congress, the party respects the verdict of the people of Hiyanglam,` Shyamkumar said.
We believe that the ruling Congress party will stand committed to fulfilling the demands of Hiyanglam people in various sectors of health, education and road transportation, he adds.
Shyamkumar said MPTCC will wait and watch the status of development projects in Hiyanglam initiated by the Congress. We believe that Hiyanglam won`™t remain backward after the next two and half years if the Chief Minister`™s assertion of developing the constituency on a war footing is translated into action.
The Congress government has not completely repaired the Imphal-Jiribam road, one of the lifelines of the State, during the last 13 years. The health service system in all the hill districts is in an abysmal state but we still believe that the Congress will work wonders in Hiyanglam, he added.
If the 47 MLAs of Congress who showed their strength and unity during the Hiyanglam bye-election take their share of responsibility in repairing the NH-37, AITC MLAs will also pull in all its mite to the effort, the MPTCC president opined.
He also said he is certain the government of Manipur will soon introduce an ordinance or enact a law to control the influx of outsiders which poses a threat to the indigenous people.
Meanwhile, the Hiyanglam AITC candidate Dr Yumnam Radheshyam said the party accepts the electoral defeat in the Hiyanglam bye-poll but he believes that they won the moral battle. He added that he was fighting with a platoon of Congress MLAs in Hiyanglam.
The bye-poll was not conducted in a free and fair manner because the Congress government coerced voters to cast their ballots for the Congress candidate by using money and muscle power. It was akin to an individual taking on the entire Government of Manipur, Dr Radheshyam lamented.