The Speaker’s Tribunal of the Manipur Assembly is waiting to make a decision on whether five MLAs from the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) should be disqualified. These MLAs joined the BJP just days after winning their seats in the 2022 Manipur Assembly elections. The disqualification was requested by Hareshwar Goswami, the Vice-President of the Manipur Congress.
The five MLAs involved are Kh Joykishan, N Sanate, Thangjam Arunkumar, Md Achab Uddin, and L.M. Khaute. The hearing wrapped up on Friday, and Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh announced that he would reserve his judgment for now. In the 2022 elections, the JD-U participated in 38 constituencies and managed to win only six seats.
Additionally, the tribunal has sent out separate notices to four MLAs from the National People’s Party (NPP) for different anti-defection issues. These notices were a response to another petition by Congress leader Goswami, who wants these four NPP MLAs to be disqualified for supporting the BJP-led government. This happened even after the NPP officially cut ties with the government in November last year.
The four NPP MLAs facing disqualification are Mayanglambam Rameshwar Singh, Thongam Shanti Singh, Irengbam Nalini Devi, and Janghemlung Panmei. Despite their party, led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, withdrawing from the BJP government, these MLAs attended a BJP meeting last November.
Before this, the NPP had seven members in the 60-member Manipur Assembly. Currently, the BJP has 37 MLAs and is additionally supported by five members from the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and three Independents. Recently, N. Kayisii, an NPP MLA and party president in Manipur, passed away, reducing the number of NPP legislators to six.
Leave a Reply