Manipur CM eyeing a hat trick on development plank

Nestled among the picturesque hills, Manipur`s Thoubal Assembly constituency, from where CM Ibobi Singh is eyeing a hat trick.

Thoubal (Manipur): Nestled among the
picturesque hills, Manipur`s Thoubal Assembly constituency,
from where Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh is eyeing a hat trick
on development plank, is a perfect example of being carefully
nurtured by its representative despite militant threat.

The Chief Minister is locked in a three-cornered contest
but people of the constituency give little chances to his two
opponents BJP`s O Indira Oinam and Trinamool Congress`s A K
Manglemjao Singh in the January 28 poll.

Ibosana Singh, a senior teacher of a school, says
development works during the Congress government was at its
peak in this constituency with good roads and better civic
amenities.

"You can talk to anyone, young and old, who will say that
the Chief Minister is sure to return to the assembly which is
solely based on his performance", Ibosana told this visiting
correspondent.

Only an hour`s drive from the state capital Imphal,
Thoubal presents a picture of a model district with
comparative peace prevailing here for the last decade.

"There are so many incidents of killing and subversive
activities by the militant group but our constituency was
never affected", he said.

Last time, the chief minister had won the seat with a
handsome margin by securing as many as 17,393 votes against
his Manipur People`s Party challenger L Tomba Singh who could
manage only 6,316.

"This time people predict the victory margin will be
even bigger considering the mood of the voters," he said.

The Chief Minister has based himself in his home since
the declaration of election schedule.

When contacted, he said, "The people are the best judge
of the achievement of our government despite various odds".

Manipur has suffered due to constant economic
blockades and being a land-locked state it was a Herculean
task for the government to put it on the path of development
and "I think my government has not failed in its duty in this
regard", said the Chief Minister.

As is the case in the entire state, female voters
outnumber their male counterparts in this constituency with
the figure of 133,132 being women as against 12,815 men.

PTI

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.