The Bharatiya Janata Party in Manipur is positive enough with themselves over the formation of government in the state.
Manipur BJP stays positive:
The BJP is hoping for the best followed by the declaration of 60 Assembly seats on March 10.
The prime opponent Congress and ally-turned-rival National People’s Party (NPP) are also confident of springing a surprise with the two political parties and Janata Dal(United) reportedly holding informal talks for a coalition if the verdict is split.
Prediction:
The exit polls have predicted 25-43 seats for the BJP to have a second shot at power in alliance with smaller parties or on its own. The party has been buoyed by the general perception and assessment by poll pundits that it would emerge as the single largest party with more seats than the 21 it won in 2017.
There are speculations that if the BJP falls short of the majority mark of 31 seats, it would form the government with the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and some independents, who together are expected to win five-seven seats.
With four seats each, both NPF and NPP helped the BJP form the government in 2017. But the NPP, which had walked out of the government in 2020, is unlikely to be in the mix for BJP.
BJP accused of using money and muscle power to influence voters:
Before the two-phase polls which were held on February 28 and March 5, the NPP and Congress had accused the BJP of using money and muscle power to influence voters. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that banned groups under suspension of operations (SoO) were paid an amount of Rs. 16 crore in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
