Cong draws up post-poll plan

Imphal, Mar 2 : Manipur PCC president Gaikhangam questioned the integrity of the parties hobnobbing with the Naga People’s Party (NPP), as the non-Congress parties today met to chalk out a post-poll strategy for government formation.

The 10 non-Congress parties, that pressured the Election Commission to order repoll in 67 polling stations in nine constituencies in the hill districts on March 4, closeted today and discussed the strategy to stall the Congress from coming to power. Today’s gathering of the 10 parties is the first initiative to expand the People’s Democratic Front (PDF).

The non-Congress parties are likely to announce expansion of the front in the next couple of days. All the Opposition parties, including the NCP, Manipur People’s Party (MPP), RJD, Janata Dal (U) and CPM formed the PDF before the polls.

The NCP, CPI, BJP, JD (U), CPM, Trinamul Congress, Manipur People’s Party, Naga People’s Front, Manipur State Congress Party and National People’s Party attended today’s meeting.

The meeting was held at the official residence of V. Hangkhanlian, president of National People’s Party, at Lamphel of Imphal West. The meeting was held a day after the CPI, a partner in the Congress-led ministry, announced its move to pull out of the Secular Progressive Front after sharing power for two consecutive terms with the Congress.

The Congress, however, was not unfazed by the coming together of the non-Congress parties and also pull-out of the CPI from the SPF.

“I don’t have anything to say about CPI’s decision. But I don’t think CPI’s withdrawal will upset the prospect of the Congress coming back to power for the third consecutive term. We will win the majority and even if we have a shortfall of one or two seats we will emerge the single largest party. By convention, the single largest party should be first invited to form the government,” Gaikhangam told The Telegraph.

Gaikhangam expressed unhappiness at the decision of the Election Commission to hold repoll in 67 polling stations. The announcement for repoll came after the ten non-Congress parties urged the Election Commission to either reject proxy votes or order repoll.

“The commission did not accept our complaints lodged in time. However, the commission decided for repoll under pressure from some parties,” Gaikhangam said.

He demanded that the security personnel deployed at the polling stations should act to prevent proxy votes during the repoll, otherwise it would be meaningless.