The BJP is ahead in 22 seats in Manipur, with Chief Minister N Biren Singh defeating nearest Congress rival by 18,271 votes in Heingang seat.
The Congress, which had emerged as the single-largest party, winning 28 seats in the 2017 assembly elections, is currently leading in just 4 seats.
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 from Agencies)
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