In Manipur, Congress candidates take an unusual oath to respect the mandate
Congress legislature party leader Ibobi Singh, who was the chief minister of the state from 2002 to 2017, and AICC Bhakta Charan Das said the idea was to pledge to respect mandate of people if elected in the Manipur elections
IMPHAL: The Manipur Congress on Thursday organised an unusual oath ceremony for its candidates before they hit the campaign trail: They pledged to respect the mandate of the people once elected.

“We take this pledge and prayer to respect the mandate of the people of Manipur,” said Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das. “We’re making the pledge at Kangla as it is the sacred place of the whole of Manipur.”
The oath event organised by the Congress as its candidates begin the battle for the Manipur assembly seats comes against the backdrop of the events following the 2017 elections. The Congress had emerged as the largest party with 28 seats in the 60-member assembly but watched helplessly as the Bharatiya Janata Party mobilised support from other parties and formed the government. Over time, the Congress lost 11 of its legislators to the BJP.
Congress legislature party leader Ibobi Singh, who was the chief minister of the state from 2002 to 2017, said the idea was to respect the people’s mandate.
Singh, along with Bhakta Charan Das, led the party’s 54 candidates to take oath at religious places in the state starting from the sacred Kangla Fort.
Manipur will go to the polls on February 27 and March 3. Nomination papers will be received till February 8 for the first phase and scrutiny of nomination papers will be taken up on February 9. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is February 11.
Meanwhile, Manipur Congress president N Loken Singh said the prayer sessions were being organised at different places since the Congress is a secular party. Loken said he was confident that the Congress will return to power in the upcoming elections in the state.
The Congress has so far announced 54 candidates after its first list of 40 candidates on January 22, including former chief minister Ibobi Singh from Thoubal assembly seat,12 sitting MLAs, 11 former MLAs and 31 new faces, for the Manipur assembly elections.