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Imphal, March 19: Unknown gunmen opened fire upon the Congress Party’s upcoming Lok Sabha election candidate, Alfred Kangnam Arthur, on Monday. The incident occurred at Paurei Shirui Village in the Ukhrul district of Manipur. However, the Congress party’s candidate escaped unhurt in the incident.
PCC president K. Meghachandra said the incident happened around 2 p.m. when the Congress leader was participating in a village-level consultative meeting about the upcoming election. While condemning the incident in the strongest possible terms, K. Meghachandra asked how elections could be held in the state if such incidents continue. K. Meghachandra held the state government responsible for the incident, saying it is the duty of the government to provide adequate security and create an environment of safety for everyone. K. Meghachandra also questioned the state government's claims of peace and normalcy in the state. “The incident was an attempt to create panic among the party supporters,” the PCC President remarked.
The Congress party is yet to make the official announcement of the party candidate in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. However, Alfred Kangnam Arthur for the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency and Binod Akoijam for the Inner Manipur constituency are openly flagged as party candidates. The PCC President is openly supporting the candidature of Alfred Kangnam Arthur.
Congress party sources confirmed that Alfred Kangnam Arthur and Bimol Akoijam are the favourites of the party’s strongman, O Ibobi Singh, who was a three-time Chief Minister and known to be very close to Sonia Gandhi. Aspiring candidates for the Inner Manipur constituency, Hareshor Goswami and Tillotama Devi, had openly expressed resentment at the party's decision to field Bimol Akoijam.
AICC member N Bhupenadra, while commenting on the open resentment expressed by Hareshor Goswami, said it is understandable as Bimol Akoijam is not even a primary member of the party, and the party workers considered him an outsider.
