Over 80 percent voter turnout was recorded in the first phase of polling in Manipur in 38 constituencies spread across six districts in the hill state. Officials said the final figure would go higher as this was only the preliminary report at 3 pm when polling officially ended. The second and final phase of polling will be held on 8 March.
Meanwhile, the 33-year-old Harvard-educated Erendro Leichombam, was attacked by unknown people in Manipur on the day of the first phase of polls in the state. This US-returned former World Bank Fellow, who also served in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is the convener of People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), a party started by Irom Sharmila. Trained in Economics at the Soka University of America and in Mathematics at the University of California, Irvine, Erendro refused to live the life of an NRI and joined Irom Sharmila’s party to bring about a social change in his home state.
Photo Source: Ranbir Laishram
