Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh filed his papers today to contest the assembly elections from his traditional Heingang constituency. He has never lost an election from this seat since 2002, when he first contested.
Mr Singh was accompanied by state BJP leaders including Manipur BJP chief A Sarda Devi. All central leaders are busy with the campaigns in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, so they couldn't make it to Manipur for Mr Singh's nomination filing, BJP sources said.
Mr Biren, 61, will start his campaign today from Khurai constituency. Mr Singh was a footballer and a journalist before he joined politics. He said he is absolutely confident of a BJP victory in Manipur.
The BJP last week named its candidates for all the 60 seats in Manipur. Protests by supporters of leaders who did not get tickets led to a crisis of sorts after many of them quit the party and joined others.
Those who have left the BJP over not getting tickets include three MLAs. Mr Singh had been missing from campaigns for a week as he worked to defuse the situation.
After filing his nomination, Mr Singh attacked the opposition Congress, saying the rival party's manifesto was only a propaganda. The Manipur Congress, which is aiming a return to power, on Friday promised 50,000 jobs every year and one-third reservation for women in government jobs.
The Congress has also promised to work to repeal the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act, or AFSPA.
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