Alfred Kanngam Arthur: Can Congress's Former MLA Wrest Outer Manipur Back?

Congress candidate Alfred Kanngam Arthur from the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency recently grabbed headlines after he encountered several gun-firing incidents in his public meetings. He was attacked with gunshots by armed miscreants at least three times during his public events.

Following the incident, the Congress state chief Keisham Meghachandra Singh condemned the targeted attack against Alfred Kanngam and demanded special security for the party”s candidate. He had also raised concerns, noting that such a situation impedes the scope for free and fair elections.

A former MLA elected from Ukhrul Assembly Constituency in the Congress ticket, Alfred Kanngam has worked as a musician and vocalist in a rock band before joining politics. He was a social worker and investigative journalist before he entered the state legislature in 2017. In the 2019 assembly elections, he lost to the Naga People”s Front (NPF)”s Ram Muivah as he vied for a second term.

A scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved constituency, the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency has a total of 21 assembly segments with most reserved for ST. The NPF”s Lorho S. Pfoze is currently representing the constituency, wrestling the seat from the Congress”s Thangso Baite in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Thangso Baite has been representing the constituency since 2014. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP made significant progress in the constituency, securing 33 per cent votes from a meagre nine per cent.

The 12th-pass politician has over 51 crore assets as per his affidavit filed in 2022, and has no criminal cases against him.

NPF has nominated the retired bureaucrat Kachui Timothy Zimik from the seat. However, by fielding the former MLA and a vocal politician with strong clout among the public, the Congress trusted Alfred Kanngam to wrest the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency.