Watch: Union Minister Smriti Irani performs traditional dance with Manipuri artists

Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child
Development, danced with artists performing traditional folk dance in Manipur
on Friday. A video of Irani performing the traditional dance at an event in the
Wangkhei area of Imphal has surfaced
online.

The minister was campaigning for the ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections in Manipur. She also
had a traditional Manipuri meal with Chief Minister N Biren Singh and other BJP
politicians.

During a rally in Imphal on Friday, Irani said girls are the
pride of Manipur and the party will provide girls in the state laptops and
scooters for their studies, reported news agency ANI.

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“BJP can bring prosperity to the state and can ensure
people live with dignity,” said Irani.

Hitting out at the Congress, the minister said, “People
suffered blockades where youth queued at fuel stations for long hours and
parents used to send their children to other cities as they did not see any
future for them. The Congress government was unfair to Manipur,” Irani was
quoted as saying by ANI.

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The BJP released its election manifesto on Thursday for the
Assembly elections in Manipur. The party promised two-wheelers to meritorious
female students, raising the monthly pension for senior citizens to Rs 1,000
and setting up a start-up fund worth Rs 100 crore. Under the ‘Rani Gaidinliu
Nupi Maheiroi Singi Scheme’, the BJP promised Rs 25,000 to girls from
economically weaker sections if voted to power.

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Elections will be conducted in two phases in Manipur for 60
Legislative Assembly seats. Voting for the first phase is scheduled to be held
on February 28 and the second phase is on March 5. The results will be declared
on March 10.

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In the 2017 assembly elections, the BJP formed the
government in the state in coalition with three regional parties,  Naga People’s Front (NPF), National People’s
Party (NPP) and  Lok Janshakti Party
(LJP). The BJP had won just 21 out of 60 seats. N Biren Singh became the
twelfth chief minister of Manipur. He had joined the BJP in 2016 after quitting
the Congress.