Thoubal (Manipur), Jan 20: 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.
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