Imphal:  The state of Manipur is voting for its 60 Assembly constituencies today amidst extremely tight security. The voting began at 7 am and will continue till 3 pm; all the 3000-odd polling stations across the state have been declared as sensitive or hyper sensitive.

The elections in the state are being held amidst an atmosphere of fear, with militants carrying out as many as five bomb attacks in the last two days. As many as 350 companies of paramilitary forces and 30,000 Manipur Police personnel have been deployed for polling. Three helicopters have also been pressed into service to carry out air surveillance.

Chief Minister and Senior Congress leader Ibobi Singh will be looking to lead his party to a third consecutive term in Manipur. Challenging him is the Trinamool Congress, which is fighting 48 out of the 60 seats against the Congress and the Nagaland People's Front, which has put up 15 candidates in the Naga Dominated areas of the state.

Also critical to the polls in Manipur is a ban by underground outfits against the Congress, which has meant that all campaigning by Congress candidates in the lead up to the polls has been extremely low key.

"We don't have any problem in law and conduct. We have deployed security with the help of Assam Rifles. We are prepared for any situation. We are in good position. I am very hopeful that elections would be held peacefully," said PC Lawnkunga, Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur.

"We are not scared of the ban. It has been there all the time. We hope to get many seats," said Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

Tags: Assembly elections, Assembly polls, Manipur elections