IMPHAL — The Janata Dal-United (JD-U), which has a lone MLA in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, has withdrawn its support to the BJP government in the state. In a letter to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Wednesday, the party reiterated that it would act as an opposition.
JD-U state President Ksh Biren Singh in his letter to the Governor said that his party does not support the BJP-led state government in Manipur and their lone MLA Mohammad Abdul Nasir be treated as an opposition MLA in the house.
In the last Assembly elections in Manipur, held in 2022, the JD-U won six seats, but subsequently, five of its MLAs joined BJP leading to the party’s strength in the house reduced to just one.
“Opposing the five MLAs joining the BJP, a complaint was lodged before the Assembly Speaker’s Tribunal and the trial under the Tenth Schedule of India against the five legislators is pending before the Speaker’s Tribunal,” the JD-U state President told the Governor in his letter.
The withdrawal by the JD-U, however, did not have any impact on the Chief Minister N. Biren Singh-led government as the BJP has 37 MLAs’ support in the 60-member Assembly and is also supported by five MLAs of Naga People’s Front (NPF) and three independents.
The JD-U led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is a constituent of the BJP-led NDA at the Center and various other states.
In November last year, the National People’s Party (NPP), which has seven MLAs, withdrew support from the BJP-led government in Manipur accusing the state government of its failure to deal with the ethnic violence since May 2023.
The NPP is led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma. However, after the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 2023, 10 tribal, including seven BJP and two Kuki People’s Alliance legislators, have been boycotting the Assembly sessions and demanding a separate administration or Union Territory for the tribals in the state.
Of the 10 tribal MLAs, two are ministers — Letpao Haokip and Nemcha Kipgen (lone woman minister) – are also not coming to the state capital due to security reasons and not attending the cabinet meeting.
The ruling BJP and the Chief Minister did not yet take any action against the party’s seven tribal MLAs. –IANS
