Peace eludes India’s Manipur even after defeating BJP over ethnic violence
Al JazeeraIn the riot-hit remote state, hopes of a change following the governing party’s defeat are shortlived as deadly clashes continue. ‘Suffered under BJP rule’ As India concluded its weeks-long general election on June 4, which saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi return to power for a record third term, tensions in the remote Manipur state remain at a boil. The BJP rejected the allegation of using Arambai Tenggol fighters to influence the vote, with its state vice president Chidananda Singh telling Al Jazeera in April that the party “always stands for free and fair elections”. Biju Samom, editor at a local news outlet, said a “silent but steady resentment” had been growing against the BJP in Manipur, especially because of its failure to restore peace in the state. Congress parliamentarian Alfred Kanngam S Arthur, who defeated Timothy Zimik of the Naga People’s Front, a BJP ally, from the Outer Manipur constituency, said the results would help lift a veil on what the state has been through over the past year.