Protests erupted in Manipur on Sunday and a number of leaders resigned from the Manipur BJP after the party released its list of candidates including some ex-Congress leaders for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister N Biren Singh were burned and party offices ransacked in various parts of the state as protesters gathered in several areas with placards.
Amid the announcement, several leaders have resigned, tough the exact number remains unclear. According to the NDTV sources, many of the aggrieved leaders were those who were not selected to accommodate defectors from the Congress.
On Sunday BJP has announced that they will contest all the 60 seats in the Manipur assembly elections. They have released the list of candidates contesting elections. The tickets of Manipur are banged by at least 10 former Congress leaders among the 16 MLAs who have joined BJP.
The Manipur assembly polls will be held in two phases. In first phase polling will be held on February 27 in 38 assembly seats and in second phase polling will be held on March 3 in 22 assembly constituencies.
In the 2017 Assembly election, the BJP had won 21 seats but it formed the government with the help of smaller parties and independent MLAs.
The Congress had then emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats but failed to form the government.