Deepak Nagpal

Manipur is gearing up for the tenth Assembly polls since it became a part of the Indian Union in 1949 (the first elections were held in 1967 after 18 years of indirect central rule).

Although issues like development, corruption, unemployment and security have become key deciding factors here as well, but there are certain other issues which are unique to the polity of this northeastern state.

AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act), the territorial claims of Nagas and the 120-day-long economic blockade enforced by them ensures that political equations in the state remain unlike in any other state.