The BJP was leading in 28 seats and the Congress in 10 constituencies in the initial rounds of counting of votes in Manipur.
According to early trends available from all the 60 constituencies, the BJP was ahead in 23 seats, the Congress in 12 and the NPP in 11.
Earlier, the exit polls in Manipur gave a clear edge to the ruling BJP followed by Congress, a distant second. Elections for the 60-member Manipur Assembly took place in two phases on February 28 and March 5.
As counting is underway, proper security measures have been taken including the imposition of Section 144 CrPC around the counting centres to ensure that peace and tranquillity are not disturbed and counting of votes is conducted smoothly, the Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur informed.
In 2017, the BJP had formed the government in Manipur with the support of the National People's Party (NPP), Naga People's Front (NPF) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) but this time, it decided to go solo and is contesting on all the 60 seats.
On the other hand, Congress had formed an alliance of six political parties and named it Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA). The coalition partners in MPSA include Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Janata Dal (Secular).
(With inputs Agencies)
