Congress govt voted out of power in Manipur

GUWAHATI, December 15: The 34-month-old Congress government in Manipur headed by Rishang Keishing was today voted out of power in the State...

GUWAHATI, December 15: The 34-month-old Congress government in Manipur headed by Rishang Keishing was today voted out of power in the State Assembly, with Governor Oudh Narain Srivastava inviting Nipamacha Singh, leader of the newly-formed United Front of Manipur (UFM) to form the government.

Veteran Congress leader and Chief Minister Keishing, who moved a vote of confidence in the one-day special session of the Assembly called for the purpose, was voted out with 38 votes against 16. Within hours of his losing the vote of confidence, Keishing rushed to Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation to the Governor, who immediately invited Singh to form the new government.

The United Front of Manipur, consisting of four parties including the breakaway Manipur State Congress, will take oath tomorrow, Chandramani Singh, a spokesman of the Front said.

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The Front, which has 38 members, consists of 23 members of the Manipur State Congress, 11 of the Manipur People’s Party (MPP), two of the Federal Party of Manipur, one of the CPI and an Independent. The Front spokesman said all the four groups would be represented in the new ministry to be sworn in tomorrow. Keishing, who was banking on the Guwahati High Court’s interim order on December 8, staying the granting of recognition to the break-away Manipur State Congress headed by Nipamacha Singh, miserably failed to muster support from the members elected on Congress tickets. Deputy Speaker Babudhon Singh said the court order did not affect him as a majority of the members were against Keishing.

Singh had launched a campaign against Keishing in October, blaming the Chief Minister of instigating ethnic violence in the State. The change of guard at Imphal has come as big blow to the Congress on the eve of the coming general elections, with the number of Congress-ruled States in the north-east coming down to three from four.

This is also likely to affect the prospects of the party in the Assembly elections in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura, the first two of which are ruled by the Congress.