Manipur’s Naga People’s Party (NPF) on Thursday rebutted speculation on social media that the party might withdraw support to the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by N Biren Singh after its defeat in the Lok Sabha election from the Outer Manipur seat.
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“The fake news that went viral today is absolutely false and unfortunate. There is no reason why NPF should withdraw from the Shri. N Biren Singh govt,” said cabinet minister and NPF state unit president Awangbow Newmai in a statement on Facebook.
“We are grateful to BJP leadership for the unwavering support extended to NPF candidate Timothy Zemik during the 18th LS election 2024. We are trying to find out who is responsible for this mischievous rumors. The culprit will be dealt with according to the law of the land,” Newmai added.
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To be sure, the BJP has a clear majority in the state assembly with 37 lawmakers in the 60-member assembly. The NPF has five legislators, the National People’s Party (NPP) has another seven legislators, the JD (U) has one and there are three Independent MLAs. Five Congress MLAs and 2 MLAs from the Kuki People’s Alliance are in the Opposition.
The Congress won Manipur’s two Lok Sabha seats, Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur, with a combined vote share of 47.59%. The BJP and NPF had teamed up to fight the elections on the two seats.
Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh of the BJP was fielded from Inner Manipur while Kachui Timothy Zimik of the NPF contested from Outer Manipur.
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BJP Manipur vice president Ch Chidananda also rejected the claims that the NPF could exit the government.
