Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh, BJP candidate retained the Heingang assembly seat for the record fifth time, defeating his rival Congress candidate P Sharatchandra by 18,271 votes. Of the 31,596 total votes recieved in the constituency, Biren won 24,814 votes (78.54 per cent), while Sharatchandra recieved 6,543 votes (20.71 per cent), according to the ECI data on Thursday.
Biren said that BJP is open to alliances with like-minded parties even if the party gets an absolute majority. However, he ruled out NPP in the proposed alliance.
“The BJP government will go hand in hand with like-minded parties even if we get absolute majority. But, it is unlikely to go together with NPP this time”, said Biren addressing reporters at DC office Imphal East district.
The Chief Minister thanked the people of Heingang for giving him a huge win even as he could not campaign properly due to time constraints. “Everything that I am today is because of my love and caring of the people of my constituency,” he said. He also thanked the people of the state for their mandate.
As the party is set to return to power, Biren assured that the upcoming BJP government in the state will mount pressure on the Centre to repeal AFSPA from Manipur and solve the unemployment issues among others. He also assured to speed up the developmental projects in both hills and valley.
Early in the day, before the counting began, the chief minister offered prayers at Shri Shri Govindaji Temple in Imphal, and called upon the people of the state to march towards a peaceful, prosperous and developed Manipur, together with BJP.
"Offered my prayers at Shri Shri Govindaji Temple along with Shri @sambitswaraj Ji to seek the blessings of Lord Govindaji for the grand result that awaits us today. Let us march towards a peaceful, prosperous and developed Manipur, together with BJP," Biren tweeted.
Biren has been winning the Heingang Assembly seat since 2002. A former footballer and journalist, Nongthombam Biren Singh entered politics in 2002 and joined the Democratic Revolutionary Peoples Party and won the assembly elections from Heingang Assembly Constituency. He retained the seat in 2007, contesting on the Indian National Congress ticket after joining the party in 2003. He continued to serve the state in the capacity of a Cabinet Minister till February 2012.
Bien, however quit the Congress party in 2016, and joined the BJP on October 17, 2016 and later became the spokesperson and co-convener of the Election Management Committee of BJP Manipur Pradesh. In 2017, he retained his seat from Heingang Assembly Constituency for the record fourth time on BJP ticket and became the 12th Chief Minister of Manipur. He won the floor test in the floor of the Assembly with the support of 33 MLAs of BJP and its allies.
Before he joined politics in 2002, as a footballer, he got recruited in the Border Security Force (BSF) playing for its team in domestic competitions. He resigned from the BSF and turned to journalism. He launched the vernacular daily Naharolgi Thoudang in 1992 and worked as the editor till 2001.
