The veteran Manipuri politician and Congress Legislator Party leader Okram Ibobi Singh can not be kept out of action for long. The former Congress chief minister plans to approach Governor Najma Heptullah to call a special Assembly session to floor a no-confidence motion against the N Biren Singh-led BJP government.
This comes soon after three BJP MLAs resigned from the Assembly and party membership to join the Congress. One of the BJP’s main allies, the National People’s Party (NPP), withdrew its support and pledged support to the Congress. The NPP’s four MLAs are all cabinet ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar Singh.
With three MLAs leaving, the BJP’s number is down to 19. They have the support of an LJP MLA and four NPF MLAs.
The Manipur Assembly has a current strength of 59 MLAs after Shyamkumar Singh of Andro constituency, who had defected to BJP from Congress, was disqualified.
“There is no problem in calling a special Assembly session while maintaining social distancing because we had constructed a 100-seat Assembly in our tenure, and there are 52 MLAs (barring the seven who are not allowed to enter the Assembly while awaiting verdict) who can actually vote. If the BJP is confident of their numbers, we don’t have a problem. But let them prove it,” said Ibobi.
State Congress spokesperson Ningombam Bupenda Meitei told ET, “The beginning of downfall of BJP rule in India is happening today in Imphal, Manipur. Very soon, there will be a people’s government which is the new Congress led coalition government in Manipur.
He said he was “confident” that three times chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh will become the new chief minister of Manipur.
– With inputs from various sources