Manipur elections: 7 killed as 82% vote amid tight security

The north-eastern state of Manipur saw over 82 per cent of the electorate exercise their voting rights on Saturday.

According to chief electoral officer PC Lawmkunga, some 82 per cent of the 17.4 lakh electorate had cast votes.

Manipur is the first of five states to hold local elections. The other states that will see voting throughout February include Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa.

The assembly elections in Manipur, however, were marred by militant violence that claimed seven lives, including that of a CRPF jawan.

Reports said armed Naga rebels opened indiscriminate fire at a polling station in the hill district of Chandel after their attempt of capturing a booth was thwarted by the police and CRPF personnel.

Several other small incidents of violence have been reported from the state.

Bombs suspected to have been planted by militants were also seized and defused before the start of polling in Imphal East and Imphal West districts.

There were five explosions in the run-up to the polls in the insurgency-hit state in which two people were killed and about a dozen injured, police said.

Around 350 companies of security personnel besides state police were deployed as voting took place at 2,357 polling stations in the state. Altogether 279 candidates, including 14 females, were in the fray.

Churches in the state have been praying for "free and fair polls" since the last eight months.

On January 16, the All Manipur Christian Organization (AMCO), an umbrella body of church denominations, held a gathering to advice candidates not to indulge in amoral poll activities and prayed for peaceful elections.