India’s main opposition Congress party bagged both parliamentary seats in strife-torn Manipur in the general election as the north-eastern state voted out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party and its ally after year-long ethnic clashes.
Since May last year the remote state bordering Myanmar has been roiled by fighting between the majority Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zo people that killed at least 220 people and displaced 60,000 to relief camps.
The state of 3.2 million people continues to be divided into two enclaves – a valley controlled by Meiteis and Kuki-dominated hills.
In the lead-up to the election, victims on both sides of the sectarian divide expressed their displeasure with Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party for not being able to bring peace to the state.
“This is the voice of those people…,” said Congress’s A Bimol Akoijam, who beat his BJP rival in the Meiteis-dominated inner Manipur seat by close to 110,000 votes.
