Newmai News Network Imphal | January 20 Political parties in Manipur are yet to announce the list of candidates despite the polls being only two and a half months away. The BJP though is likely to officially announce its first list of candidates by Saturday, January 21, early afternoon. “The BJP has already finalised 31 candidates for the ensuing Manipur polls and that will be officially announced tomorrow,” sources in the state BJP said. A meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board finalised the list in New Delhi yesterday evening. The two-phased Manipur polls for the 60-member House will be held on March 4 and 8. Counting of vote will take place on March 11. In the first phase of the 11th state assembly election, altogether 38 assembly segments will go to poll. Manipur goes to polls along with UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa. But, elections to Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand assemblies will all be in a single phase while UP will have seven phases. Punjab and Goa will go to polls on February 4 while UP’s first phase of polls will be conducted on February 11. Uttarakhand goes to poll on February 15. All political parties in Manipur have put on hold the announcement of candidate names for the election. But now the BJP Manipur Pradesh will be the first party to be able to announce its candidates for the polls. The campaign trail is very slow as of now. Political parties, particularly the ruling Congress and opposition BJP seem to have felt the chill of the ongoing blockade imposed by the United Naga Council since November 1, 2016. Door-to-door campaigning for the crucial election by political parties and aspiring candidates is taking place at a slow pace. Stakes are high for Indian National Congress (INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has been making efforts to penetrate deep into the state in the upcoming polls. The Congress won 42 seats in the last Manipur assembly polls held in 2012 while the BJP failed to open its account. In the last assembly polls, though the Congress was able to make an impressive win, this time the party is expected to face a stiff challenge from the BJP. The saffron party is making efforts to make inroads into Manipur after Assam. The 2017 Manipur assembly election promises to be a grand affair in the wake of the developing political scenario in the state. District creation issue, territorial integrity, Inner Line Permit (ILP) related issues, Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and demand of ST status for Meiteis are some of the major issues that will dominate the 2017 election in the trouble-torn Manipur.