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The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Power play in Manipur again, 10 NDA MLAs meet governor, staking claim to form govt
The MLAs, who belong to the faction opposed to former chief minister N. Biren Singh, claim to have the support of 44 MLAs, including those known to be in the Biren camp, from among the 60 members in the Manipur assembly. Manipur has been under the President's Rule since 13 February this year. New Delhi: After a brief lull, politicking has started in Manipur again, with 10 National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MLAs meeting Governor Ajay Bhalla Wednesday and staking claim to form the government in the state, ThePrint has learnt. The list of 44 excludes 10 Kuki and five Congress MLAs. The 10 Kuki MLAs include seven MLAs from the BJP. While they have not withdrawn from the BJP, they, post the May 2023 ethnic conflict, have kept themselves aloof from any talks on government formation. BJP MLA Thockchom Radheshyam Singh was among the 10 MLAs who met the Governor. He told ThePrint that 44 MLAs agreed on supporting a popular government. 'We conveyed to the Governor that the MLAs are ready to stake claim. It is the public sentiment also,' Thockchom Radheshyam Singh said. However, an MLA from the Biren camp told ThePrint on condition of anonymity that he was unaware of any move to form the government. 'Nobody has reached out to me asking for my support,' the MLA said. The meeting of the 10 MLAs comes a day after Biren Singh met the Governor to request him to carry forward the steps taken by his government to detect, identify, and deport illegal immigrants. The six-month President's Rule will end 12 August this year. Under the President's Rule, the Manipur assembly was not dissolved but put in suspended animation. Currently, the 60-member assembly has 59 MLAs following the death of National People's Party (NPP) legislator N. Kayisii. The BJP MLAs, including the seven Kuki-Zo MLAs, hold 32 assembly seats. Additionally, five Janata Dal (United) MLAs joined the BJP after the 2022 state polls, taking the party's effective strength to 37. Of the remaining MLAs, five are from the Naga People's Front, a BJP ally. After Kayisii's death, six MLAs remained in the assembly from the Conrad Sangma-led NPP, which earlier supported the Biren Singh government. However, in November 2024, the NPP MLAs withdrew their support. Another former BJP ally, Kuki People's Alliance, has also sent two MLAs to the assembly. Besides, there are three Independent MLAs, five Congress MLAs, and a JD(U) MLA. A second MLA, also present in the morning meeting with Bhalla Wednesday, said, 'The MLAs do not want the assembly to be kept in suspended animation any longer when the BJP continues to have a majority. There is a growing clamour for installing a popular government at the earliest.' According to a senior state BJP leader, the Centre is under pressure from its party MLAs to end the President's Rule in Manipur. Last month, 21 MLAs, including 13 from the BJP, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the formation of the Manipur government. However, the Centre is yet to take a call on revoking the President's Rule before the expiry of six months and forming a government before expected. The senior state BJP leader quoted earlier said the Centre's reluctance could be on account of the continuing factionalism within the Manipur unit of the BJP. Of the two factions in the state, one supports Biren Singh and the other, led by Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, opposes the former chief minister. The latter, anti-Biren faction, is now claiming to have the support of 44 MLAs. Manipur has been in turmoil since the ethnic conflict first rocked the state in May 2023. No large-scale violence has happened since the imposition of the President's Rule. The state, however, is yet to return to normalcy. Manipur has now been divided on ethnic lines, with Kukis forced to leave the Valley and Meiteis gone from the hills. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: 3 months into President's Rule, Governor's airlift to Raj Bhawan shows Manipur is still volatile
Scroll.in
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Manipur: 10 NDA MLAs meet governor, seek ‘popular government' in state
A delegation of 10 Manipur MLAs , including seven from the Bharatiya Janata Party, met Governor Ajay Bhalla on Wednesday, to urge the formation of a 'popular government' in the state, The Indian Express reported. The 10 MLAs are the BJP's Yumnam Radheshyam Singh, Thockchom Radheshyam Singh, Lourembam Rameshwar Meitei, Thangjam Arunkumar, Kh Raghumani Singh, Kongkham Robindro Singh and Paonam Brojen Singh, the National People's Party's Sheikh Noorul Hassan and Janghemliung Panmei and Independent MLA Sapam Nishikanta. Thockchom Radheshyam Singh has claimed that 44 MLAs support the formation of the government, The Indian Express reported. 'Given the way things have gone and the pressure from the public, we expressed to the governor that it's the right time to install a popular government,' he told the newspaper. Manipur has been mired in ethnic conflict between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar communities that broke out in May 2023. The violence has since left at least 260 dead and displaced more than 59,000. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024. President's Rule was imposed on February 13 after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned earlier that day. Bhalla has been administering Manipur since then. After meeting with the governor on Wednesday, Thockchom Radheshyam Singh said that the President's Rule was an emergency move and should be the last option. 'If the new popular government fails, you can reimpose President's Rule again in full throttle,' he said, according to The Indian Express . The BJP MLA claimed that the group has the support of all the legislators in the Assembly except for the 10 from the Kuki-Zo community and five from the Congress. Seven out of the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs won their Assembly seats on BJP tickets. Two belong to the Kuki Peoples' Alliance and one is an Independent. The Manipur Assembly has 60 seats, of which one fell vacant after the death of an MLA. Independent MLA Sapam Nishikanta Singh said that the delegation submitted a signed document to Bhalla affirming their support for a 'popular government', India Today NE reported. He said that the document had the signatures of 22 MLAs from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. 'We expect the formation of the popular government to happen soon,' the Independent MLA said. 'We are appealing to the Governor that we want a popular government. All NDA MLAs in Manipur are very keen to have a popular government installed. We also want the support of the public.' On April 29, a group of 21 NDA MLAs had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to restore a 'popular government' in the state. They had contended that this was the only way to bring back peace and normalcy in Manipur.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Claiming support of 44 MLAs, 10 NDA legislators meet Manipur Governor seeking ‘popular govt' in state
A group of 10 NDA MLAs met Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, and later said that they had cited the support of 44 MLAs for the formation of a popular government in the state. The 10 MLAs are BJP's Yumnam Radheshyam Singh, Thockchom Radheshyam Singh, Lourembam Rameshwar Meitei, Thangjam Arunkumar, Kh. Raghumani Singh, Kongkham Robindro Singh, and Paonam Brojen Singh; Sheikh Noorul Hassan and Janghemliung from the NPP; and Independent Sapam Nishikanta. Nine of the MLAs are from the Meitei-majority Valley, while Panmei is a Naga. 'We went and gave the opinion of 44 MLAs – given the way things have gone and the pressure from the public, we expressed to the Governor that it's the right time to install a popular government. President's Rule is an emergency move, and it should be the last option. If the new popular government fails, you can reimpose President's Rule again in full throttle,' Thockchom Radheshyam Singh, one of the 10 MLAs, told The Indian Express. He said they invoked the support of all the MLAs in the Manipur Legislative Assembly except the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs and five Congress MLAs. The Manipur Legislative Assembly has 60 seats, of which one is vacant owing to the death of an MLA. On April 29, a group of 21 NDA MLAs had submitted letters to both the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister seeking the installation of a popular government in the state. These did not include former CM N Biren Singh or the circle of MLAs close to him. The 10 MLAs who met the Governor on Wednesday were among the 21. In the April 29 letter, they had written that there had been 'no visible actions to bring peace and normalcy in the state' since the imposition of President's Rule on February 13, and that 'installation of a popular government is the only means to bring peace and normalcy in Manipur.' 'We also handed over that letter to the Governor to say that we had already written to the Prime Minister on this issue. All 44 MLAs are united in favour of the formation of a popular government in the state. We have to respect the demand from the public. We have not proposed the name of any individual to lead the government. The Centre can select a leader of its choosing. We had a very long discussion on the road ahead with the Governor, and he said that he would look into the matter,' said Radheshyam. Sheikh Noorul Hassan, one of the 10 MLAs, also said they have the support of 44 MLAs on the formation of a popular government. However, L Susindro Meitei, one of the MLAs close to Biren Singh, claimed to be unaware of the development. 'I have no knowledge of the political development which unfolded today. However, it is very inappropriate for a group of legislators to stake claim just by claiming to have a majority. Normally, this is something to be done by the party's legislature leader. But we appreciate that they have highlighted the prevailing grievances in the state.'
