Imphal: The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) which has a lone MLA in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, in a letter to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Wednesday reiterated that the party would play as an opposition party in the state as it withdraw its support from the BJP government in 2022.
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. (IANS)
