Newmai News Network Imphal | February 1 The Congress is expected to release its candidate list in one go on February 3 for the two-phased Manipur assembly election which is scheduled to be held on March 4 and 8. Sources from the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) informed that the party has already prepared a list of prospective candidates for the crucial state assembly election, and that it would be finalized and announced on February 3. The PCC has already announced to field candidates in all the 60 constituencies in the ensuing polls in the Congress-ruled state. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh left Imphal for New Delhi to meet All India Congress Committee (AICC) Chief Sonia Gandhi and other top leaders of the party. It is learnt that MPCC president TN Haokip is currently in New Delhi in connection with the candidate list. The party’s Central Screening Committee is expected to meet tomorrow, February 2, in the national capital and that will be followed by a meeting of the Election Committee of the party headed by Sonia Gandhi on February 3 to finalise the candidate list for the Manipur election. Manipur has two regions—hills and valley—and in the 60-member House, only 20 come from the hill districts and 40 from the valley. The campaigning for the polls is expected to pick up in the coming days as several prominent leaders, particularly from the BJP and Congress, are going to hit the campaign trail in Manipur. The BJP has already finalized and announced 31 candidates for the Manipur polls while the Congress ministers and MLAs, who are sure of a ticket, have started to hit the campaign trail in prominent constituencies though it has been moving at a slow pace.
