Polls a referendum on hills-valley unity: Okram Ibobi Singh

IMPHAL: Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Wednesday said this assembly election would be a referendum on the unity between the hills and the valley. Unperturbed by BJP's rising influence in the state, he added that Congress would get a clear-cut majority.
Ibobi's comments came on a day 10 Naga-dominated seats in the hills went to the polls. Tension between the hills and the valley had been high ever since the United Naga Council (UNC) imposed an economic blockade since November 1 last year to protest against his government's decision to create seven new districts.That, and the blockade, created a rift between the two parts of the state.
"We are confident of getting a clear majority this time. We will win anywhere between 36 and 40 seats," said the chief minister, whose 15-year tenure was marked by agitations, bandhs, blockades and insurgency-related violence.
He added that Congress was expected to win 10 of the 20 seats in the hills, inhabited by the Naga and Kuki-Chin tribes. When asked about Congress's chance in the Naga-dominated seats, he replied, "They are with us."
The chief minister stuck to tradition by being the first person to cast his vote at the Thoubal Athokpam Makha Primary School polling station located next to his ancestral home at 7am. Every election, people of the locality wait for him to cast his vote at this polling station before following suit.
Ibobi was accompanied by his wife Landhoni Devi and son Surjakumar Singh who is contesting from Khangabok. Thoubal Athokpam, where the chief minister lives, falls under Khangabok constituency. Ibobi himself is contesting from the neighbouring Thoubal constituency.
The chief minister acknowledged the high-voltage nature of the campaign and said central BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh, visited the state a record 90 times during the poll campaign.
"This is a first in the history of Manipur. Even Union minister Prakash Javadekar- ji camped here for a month. We told the (Congress) high command that we will manage the polls ourselves. We sought the help of vice-president Rahul Gandhi- ji after the PM took part in the BJP campaign," he said.