MNDF announces names of 15 candidates for Manipur election

Manipur National Democratic Front (MNDF) today announced its list of 15 candidates for the Manipur Assembly polls to be held next month.
Announcing the list of the candidates, MNDF vice president Lien Gangte said that "the party will bring a change in Manipur."
Ibobi Singh-led Congress's sweeping victory in Manipur
in 2012 bagging 42 seats was attributed to a divided opposition. This time, the BJP built an anti-Congress platform by getting on board leaders who have popularity of their own but had fallen out with Ibobi Singh.
The BJP was able to pocket several top leaders of the Congress such as N Biren, Y Erabot and O Chauba, although it itself suffered a few casualties losing KH Jaikishan to the Congress.

The Congress's campaign strategy of accusing the saffron party of being hand in glove with the United Naga Council, which sponsored the crippling economic blockade to protest against the bifurcation of the districts in the-Naga dominated hills, did not cut much ice with the voters.

Neither did its allegation that if the BJP came to power it would compromise the territorial integrity of the state.
The BJP did well in the valley, where the Congress was hoping to reap the benefits of economic blockade.
The sharp decline in the vote share and number of seats of the Congress from 42 per cent in 2012 to 35 per cent in 2017, and to 28 seats from 42 seats last time has put the state leadership under the scanner.

The Congress strategy of bifurcating the hill and thus create a division between valley and hills which has 70 and 30 per cent of the seats respectively didn't seem to have clicked this time.
The state Congress leadership, however, has blamed the "false promises of the BJP" and militant outfit NSCN (IM) for its poor performance.
"The NSCN (IM) in order to defeat the Congress had resorted to a massive rigging and booth-capturing in many seats in favour of the BJP and NPF candidates. The money power played a vital role in addition to a section of people's faith in the BJP's false promises about lifting the economic blockade," state Congress president T N Haokip told