Hopeful of forming govt in Manipur, Cong suffers blow after BJP wins RS seat with 28 votes

Two days after 9 ruling coalition MLAs withdrew support from the N Biren Singh-led government, BJP on Friday won a high-stakes battle for the Rajya Sabha seat in Manipur. Its candidate Leisamba Sanajaoba- the titular king of Manipur secured 28 votes as against 24 votes received by Congress' nominee T Mangibabu. As per sources, two Congress MLAs cross-voted.

Moreover, TMC MLA T Robindro Singh and 4 out of the 7 Congress MLAs who had defected to the BJP were disqualified by the Speaker and hence, could not participate in the voting. It is pertinent to note that the aforesaid 5 MLAs had agreed to support the Congress party. However, 3 other Congress-turned BJP legislators were allowed to cast their votes. The Independent MLA Ashab Uddin abstained from voting, thus lending another blow to Congress. Thus, Sanajaoba got the support of 21 BJP MLAs, 4 NPF MLAs, one LJP MLA, and 2 Congress MLAs while his rival was backed by 20 Congress MLAs and 4 NPP MLAs. 

Read: 75 New COVID-19 Cases In Manipur; Count Rises To 681

Congress raises objections

Earlier in the day, the Congress party petitioned the EC asking for the votes of party MLA Ngamthang Haokip and Speaker Y Khemchand Singh to be cancelled. It alleged that Haokip and Singh had shown their vote to the BJP official representative and the Congress representative respectively. According to the party, this was a violation of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 and the relevant laws pertaining to the casting of votes. However, the Returning Officer rejected this allegation. Reconfirming the claim by checking the video recording of the voting, the RO arrived at the conclusion that the Congress party's complaint was baseless.

Congress' hopes had been bolstered after 4 of the 7 party MLAs who had crossed over to BJP had returned to its fold a few hours ahead of the RS election. But the party cried foul after the Speaker disqualified these legislators before the voting. Terming this as an "abuse of the Indian Constitution", Congress Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi expressed hope that the Election Commission of India and the courts would render justice. 

Read: Manipur Political Crisis: Congress Top Brass Dispatches Ajay Maken & Gogoi As Observers

Impact on power tussle in Manipur

On Thursday, senior Congress leader and former CM Okram Ibobi Singh wrote to Governor Najma Heptulla staking claim to form the government. He urged her to summon a special session of the Assembly in a couple of days to vote on the motion of the no-confidence against the Council of Ministers which has already been moved before the Speaker. Alternatively, he suggested that the government could be outrightly dismissed as it is in a minority. 

With the resignation of three BJP MLAs being accepted and the disqualification of 6 MLAs, the strength of the Manipur Assembly has reduced to 51. Even without taking into consideration the votes of the two Congress MLAs who cross-voted, BJP has 26 MLAs (including the Speaker) in the 51-member Manipur Assembly. This indicates that Congress might be unable to topple the government in the present scenario. 

Read: Manipur Political Situation Will Not Have Any Impact In Meghalaya: Conrad Sangma