Just as fresh violence continues to erupt in Manipur over ethnic clashes between the Kuki and the Meitei community, a political crisis has also befallen the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) in the state, with the N Biren Singh government now weaker.
A Kuki community-backed party Kuki People’s Alliance (KPA), which has two MLAs in the current government, has withdrawn its support from the NDA alliance in the state, with troubles now mounting for the Biren Singh government.
In an email, the two KPA MLAs announced their withdrawal of support through a letter addressed to Governor Anusuiya Uikey. This move can pose a major threat to the government of Chief Minister Biren Singh, who has been facing a lot of backlash due to the violence in Manipur.
KPA chief Tongmang Haokip wrote in the letter, “After careful consideration of the current conflagration, the continued support for the incumbent government of Manipur led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh is no longer fructuous. Accordingly, the support of the KPA to the Government of Manipur is hereby withdrawn and can be considered null and void.”
The Manipur assembly has 60 seats out of which KPA has 2 and the ruling party BJP holds 32. The BJP government is further backed by 5 MLAs from the Naga People's Front (NPF), 7 from the National People's Party (NPP), 6 from JDU, and two Independents.
Further, many BJP MLAs have come forward demanding a separate administration for the Kuki-dominated districts in the state, suggesting that Manipur be split into three separate Union Territories to put an end to the current conflict.
The violent clashes in Manipur began on May 3, and have not seen a major halt yet. Last week, fresh violence erupted in the Bishnupur district which claimed the lives of six people, taking the total death toll of the ethnic violence to over 180.
More security personnel have been deployed in Imphal to control the ongoing violence. Before this, the Centre had deployed over 40,000 army and security forces personnel in Manipur to put an end to the ethnic clashes.
READ | New Covid wave: Should India be concerned about fast-spreading ‘Eris’ sub variant? Experts reveal truth
