The merger of Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP) and Congress was postponed as five MLAs of the MSCP did not attend the function, Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaikhangam Gangmei told the reporters in Imphal on Thursday. The merger was scheduled for Thursday.
The possible merger of the two parties has been in the air. Earlier Mr. Gangmei had said that the issue of the merger would be decided by the party high command. The high command in Delhi had supported the merger move as it would mean that the supporters of the five MSCP MLAs would vote for the Congress candidates in the forthcoming Lok sabha elections.
However, several Congress MLAs and the party workers of the five MSCP MLAs have opposed the move. While some of the MLAs have threatened to quit the party, others said their supporters may have second thoughts about voting for the Congress candidates. The protests stemmed from the fact that the five MSCP MLAs had insisted that they be given tickets for the next assembly elections as a pre-condition for the merger.
The MSCP was formed on December 5, 1997 by the MLAs who had left the Congress. The five MSCP MLAs are Ms Nemcha Kipgen, R.K. Imo, Thamarjit Karam, Brojen Paonam and J. Panmei.
