The father of a National People’s Party candidate was shot at on Friday night in Manipur’s Imphal East district, PTI reported. Assembly elections will be held in the state on February 27 and March 5.

Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh said on Saturday that L Samjai Singh, the father of the National People’s Party Andro candidate L Sanjoy Singh, was shot at by unidentified persons when they were having discussions with supporters.

Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar Singh said that election violence has become the norm and trends indicate the polls will not be free and fair. He demanded that additional paramilitary personnel should be deployed during elections.

The deputy chief minister also said the National People’s Party will win 20 seats in the 60-member state Assembly.

National People’s Party President Conrad K Sangma on Saturday met Samjai Singh at a hospital in Imphal. Sangma wrote on Twitter that such incidents were “tarnishing” the essence of Indian democracy and urged the Election Commission to look into the matter.

Sangma, also the chief minister of Meghalaya, called it an unfortunate incident. He said the developments reflect the frustration of “certain” individuals. “I have been campaigning in Manipur since 2002, and I have never seen such extreme poll violence,” he added.

Sangma also met the Manipur chief electoral officer later on Saturday afternoon. He said he had highlighted a series of incidents, which are a cause of concern for the safety of the party’s candidates.

While the deputy chief minister is a member of the National People’s Party, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh is from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

On January 30, BJP supporters went on violent protests in Manipur after the party declared candidates, many of whom had switched sides, for the Assembly elections.