Congress' dilemma in Manipur heightens as its MLAs look to defect to BJP

Just two months after Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh reshuffled his cabinet to accommodate three of the dissident MLAs, local media in the North East has been rife with the news of Congress legislators who are ready for defection and are secretly meeting BJP leaders. Nagaland Post, an English daily published from Kohima, reported that a team of Congress MLAs in the Manipur Assembly have met BJP leaders recently and handed over a list of 28 legislators willing to defect to the saffron party. The article published in the Nagaland Post created much discussion in the political circles and was followed by similar reports published by other news outlets of the region. [caption id=“attachment_246780” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. AFP[/caption] As per the reports published, the group of Congress MLAs met BJP leaders Ram Madhav and Himanta Biswa Sarma, in their recent visit to Imphal on 23 June. The reports also said that the meetings took place in two undisclosed locations. A source in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) told Firstpost that in the meeting, the leaders of the saffron party gave the Congress MLAs two options. “They could either bring a no confidence motion against the Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh or resign en-mass to ensure early election,” said the source. The source added that there are two ministers in the Okram Ibobi Singh Cabinet among others standing at the crossover. Media reports also said that Congress MLAs standing at the crossover are invited by the BJP leadership to Delhi for screening. “They will not be inducted without proper screening,” said the source. A source in the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee said that the saffron party has long been trying to woo MLAs from the party ruling the state for three consecutive terms. “Manipur has 60 assembly constituencies out of which 47 are occupied by the Congress. BJP does not even have the required number of candidates to field in the assembly election to be held in 2017. Hence it is eyeing our standing MLAs,” the source said. A high-level source in the Manipur BJP denied such allegations saying that the “wave of anti-incumbency against the Okram Ibobi Singh-led government is so strong that we need not topple it”. But Congress spokesperson N Biren Singh did not deny the news reports entirely. “Two or three Congress MLAs might have met BJP leaders. But 28 Congress MLAs have not met them. Not even Congress MLAs in such big numbers are willing to join hands with BJP,” he said.