The Manipur People’s Party (MPP) has decided not to contest the two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur and instead shall support BJP candidates. This was announced on Saturday by Sovakiran N., the MPP president in a press conference in the party office.
Explaining why the MPP is going to support the BJP, he said that the only party which shall be able to defeat the Congress candidates is the BJP.
“The MPP is all for protecting the territorial integrity of Manipur. Since the BJP is in a position to save the people, the MPP is extending unfettered support to the party,” he said.
The Manipur unit BJP President Chaoba Thounaojam welcomed the support extended by the MPP to the party’s candidates. He said that it will go a long way in winning both seats.
The announcement of the MPP does not come as a complete surprise. There was no political move in the MPP office to announce the party candidates. In fact, it was rumoured that there were no takers for the MPP ticket. Some days back, reports said that the MPP may field a candidate in the general Inner Manipur constituency.
The MPP has been in bad shape for some years. Most of the senior and prominent politicians including some former presidents had left the party to join other parties. In the last Assembly elections, the MPP could not win a single seat in the 60-member House. This was quite a climb down for the MPP which had once formed the Ministry. Two sitting MPP MLAs N. Bijoy and R.K. Anand got Congress tickets in the last Assembly elections.
In the last two Assembly elections, the BJP had failed to win a single seat in the Manipur Assembly.
