The ruling Congress has won the Hiyanglangam by-elections whose results were declared on Monday. This constituency is located in the home district of the Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. There were five candidates in this constituency where there are 24,492 voters. 93 per cent of the voters had cast their votes in the by-elections held on October 17.
Dijwamani Elangbam of the Congress bagged 9,008 votes while his nearest rival Radhesham Yumnam of the Trinamool Congress got 7,179 votes. In the 2012 elections the TMC MLA Kunjo Maibam had defeated Yumnam, then a CPI candidate, by a margin of 17 votes. The BJP candidate Dhanavir Maibam, son of the late TMC MLA Kunjo Maibam who was relegated to the third position got 6,306. The Manipur People's Party candidate Amutombi Yumnam got 615 votes while Laiba Thokchom of the Manipur State Congress Party got just 93 votes. There were 36 NOTA but no other invalid votes.
The MPP president N. Sovakiran said that since his party could not compete with others in money power the candidate was defeated. The upbeat Congress functionaries said that it is now proved that the Modi wave is yet to reach Manipur. It did not affect the 2012 Assembly elections and the Parliamentary elections earlier this year.
