Imphal, April 27 2009: THE FOUR member delegation of Manipur People's Party (MPP) led by its president Dr L Chandramani today met the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of Election Commission of India (ECI), Navin Chawla and Election Commissioners VS Sampath and S Y Quraishi and placed before them their complaints on the alleged mass rigging by Congress in Andro Assembly Constituency urging them to conduct re-poll in all the polling stations of the that constituency.

The meeting began at 4.30 pm at the office ECI, New Delhi and lasted nearly one hour, according reports received here.

Other Secretaries of the ECI were also present at the meeting.

The delegation of MPP comprises, apart from its president, leader of MPP Legislature Wing MLA, O Joy, MLA Dr I Ibohalbi and candidate in the Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency, former Union Minister, Th Chaoba.

When contacted by this newspaper, MLA O Joy said, the delegation placed details before the full bench of the ECI about how Ex-Deputy Speaker Th Shyamkumar was allegedly threatened and put in jail, then cast all votes in proxy by Congress in Andro AC.

The CEC, the two Election Commissioners and the other Secretaries gave the delegation a patient hearing, the MLA said.

Relating how Dr Chandramani and candidate Chaoba complained to the Commission, Joy told the Hueiyen Lanpao from New Delhi that they came to know only after the election that Congress was planning before the election to capture booths and vote in proxy in Andro AC which is a stronghold of MPP since last many elections.

They also told the Commission that the Returning Officer concerned and the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) who are employees of the state government were also part of the secret plot of booth capture and rigging.

Moreover even the Manipur police helped Congress in various activities as part of the conspiracy to make Congress win the election, the MPP leaders told the Commission.

MLA Joy further informed that the delegation submitted documentary evidences to the Commission to substantiate their charges.

He said, most of the polling stations in Andro AC were declare as hyper sensitive areas right from the start of the election campaign till the end, and orders/notices in this regard were already issued, he said.

Chaoba submitted copies of the same orders/notices to all the members and the CEC.

However, at the time of sending officials to the polling stations on the eve of the election, the polling stations which were already declared as hyper sensitive had suddenly been turned back to normal polling stations.

Instead of sending Central Para Military Forces to these polling stations, unarmed personnel of Village Defence Force (VDF) were sent.

Turning hyper sensitive polling stations into normal polling stations leaves prior approval from the ECI.

However, the government officials and the Congress colluded in turning the hyper sensitive polling stations into normal polling stations without necessary orders from the Commission, the MPP delegation informed the Commission.

Joy further alleged that in order to make way for mass proxy voting in Andro AC, the Congress had threatened party MLA Th Shyamkumar and loaded a pile of charges on him, and poisoned his mind with ideas that Congress will help remitting the charges filed against him, then made him surrender before court and put him behind the bars.

Thus using various unfair means the Congress had voted in proxy in most of the polling stations in Andro AC and deprived the right to franchise of the electorate of the constituency.

That's why the MPP leaders urged the Commission to conduct re-poll at all the polling stations in Andro AC, Joy said.

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