Four electronic voting machines were damaged on Friday during the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Manipur, a conflict-ridden state, according to sources.
“EVMs have been damaged at four places in Imphal East and West. At one of the polling booths, an EVM was set ablaze by unidentified miscreants,” a source said.
Manipur was scheduled to hold elections for its two seats, Inner and Outer Manipur, on Friday under the backdrop of an ongoing ethnic war. On April 26, phase 2 voting is planned in a few locations inside the Outer Manipur constituency.
The sources claim that numerous locations in the Inner Manipur constituency, where Friday’s Lok Sabha elections were held, had reports of shooting and intimidation events.
Since May 3 of last year, Manipur has seen intermittent, occasionally violent ethnic confrontations between the Kukis and mostly Meitei tribe that have claimed over 200 lives. The Kukis have relocated to the hills, whereas the Meiteis are now mostly concentrated in Imphal city.
The Election Commission determined that almost 24,000 displaced individuals residing in the relief camps were entitled to cast ballots, and 94 special polling places were established specifically for their use.
For people who fled the northeastern state to seek safety outside after the riots, no voting preparations were done.
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