GUWAHATI: The Congress won two seats, while a regional entity won another in the byelections to three seats in the North-East, which dashed the BJP’s plans to consolidate its base in the region. The Congress won the Hiyanglangam seat in Manipur and retained the Kanubari seat in Arunachal Pradesh, with the Naga People’s Front (NPF) also wresting the Northern Angami-II seat in Nagaland.
The Congress is in power in Manipur and Arunachal, while the NPF is a major constituent of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) Government.
In Manipur, Congress’ Dijwamani Elangbam defeated his nearest rival Radhesham Yumnam of the Trinamool Congress by 1,829 votes. Elangbam polled 9,008 votes as against Yumnam’s 7,179 . The BJP came in third, with its candidate Dhanavir Maibam bagging 6,306 votes. The seat was earlier held by the late Kunjo Maibam of the TMC.
“We lost to money power,” Manipur People’s Party (MPP) president N Sovakiran told journalists. The MPP came fourth.
In Nagaland, it was a straight contest between two DAN constituents. The NPF’s Neiphrezo Keditsu defeated the BJP’s Visasolie Lhoungu by 3,045 votes. Keditsu polled 9,909 votes, against 6,864 by Lhoungu. The Congress, which had ruled the state for the most part until the emergence of the NPF, did not contest. The seat fell vacant following former CM Neiphiu Rio’s election to the Lok Sabha.