Govindas Konthoujam, the president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), resigned on Tuesday (July 20). According to sources, at least eight Congress MLAs would join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today. Assembly elections are set to take place in Manipur next year.
Konthoujam was the Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party of the MPCC and a six-time elected Congress MLA from the Bishnupur Assembly Constituency. He was appointed as the president of the MPCC by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in December last year. He was a former Cabinet minister in Manipur.
Sharda Devi was also named president of the BJP’s Manipur state last month. She took over for Saikhom Tikendra Singh, who died in May of COVID-19.
Elections to the 60-member Manipur state assembly are set to take place next year. In the last assembly elections held in 2017, the Congress party won 28 seats and the BJP 21 seats. The Congress, which won most of the seats, was unable to form a government. However, the state parties, the NPF and the NPP, The BJP, with support, formed the regime. Subsequently, Congress MLAs joined the BJP.
At present, the BJP has 25 MLAs in the Manipur Assembly and the Congress has 17 MLAs. Meanwhile, Manipur state Congress committee president Govindas resigned today (July 20) ahead of next year’s assembly elections. Also, 8 more Congress MLAs are united with the BJP in the BJP today. Thus the Congress leadership is in shock.
(with inputs from Dinamalar)
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