Manipur smaller parties fight for attention after BJP’s clear majority
The Hindu
These parties have underlined their National Democratic Alliance and North East Democratic Alliance link with the saffron party
The smaller parties in Manipur are virtually engaged in a race for attention after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) notched up a clear majority in the just-concluded Assembly election.
—The BJP won 32 seats in the 60-member House and two independent candidates – media baron Sapam Nishikant who won the Keishamthong seat and Haokholet Kipgen (Saitu seat) — have formally pledged support.
The parties fighting to be the “best friends” of the BJP are the National People’s Party (NPP) with seven seats, the Janata Dal (United) with six and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) with five.
The newly-floated Kuki People’s Alliance that won two seats has not made its intention clear yet. Neither has another independent winner, J. Kumo Sha.
The Congress won the remaining five seats.
The NPP, the JD(U) and the NPF have underlined their National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) link to be counted as the BJP’s allies.
The JD(U) and the BJP are partners at the Centre and in Bihar while the NPP and the NPF are members of the NDA as well as anti-Congress NEDA that the BJP has been helming since 2016.
With the Prajwal Revanna sexual abuse case taking new twists every day, JD(S) State president and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday appealed to the Hassan MP, who is his nephew, to return and subject himself to the legal process. This is the first time that such an appeal has been made by the family.
Amidst continuing protest over the murder of Anjali Ambiger in Hubballi, Home Minister G. Parameshwara, who visited the victim’s family on Monday, announced in a press conference that like the Neha Hiremath case, this too would be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for inquiry.