Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party, the Janata Dal (United), also known as JD(U), fired its Manipur unit chief Kshetrimayum Biren Singh on Wednesday (Jan 22) who claimed that the party withdrew support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the Indian state of Manipur.

Advertisment

Speaking to the news agency ANI, JD(U) National spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said that Singh's claim was misleading and baseless.

Advertisment

"The party has taken cognisance of this and the president of the Manipur unit of the party has been relieved of his position," Prasad added. 

The JD(U) has only one MLA in the Manipur Assembly—Md Abdul Nasir. The JD(U) is an ally of the BJP at the central government level as well as in the state of Bihar. It was previously associated with the opposition INDIA bloc. 

What did the former Manipur JD(U) chief claim?

Advertisment

Earlier on Wednesday, Kshetrimayum Biren Singh, informed the state's Governor, Ajay Kumar, about the development.

In a letter to Governor Kumar, Singh said, "In the election to State Assembly of Manipur held in February/March 2022, six candidates set up by Janata Dal (United) were returned. After a few months, five MLAs of Janata Dal (United) defected to BJP. The trial under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India of the five MLAs is pending before the Speaker's Tribunal."

Singh told Kumar that after the JD(U) became a part of the INDIA bloc, support to the BJP-led government (in Manipur) was withdrawn by the party by informing the office of the governor, the chief minister, and the assembly speaker.

Singh pointed out that the seating arrangement of JD(U) MLA Nasir was made in the opposition bench in the last assembly session by the speaker. 

"It is, hereby, further reiterated that Janata Dal (United), Manipur Unit does not support the BJP-led state government in Manipur, and our lone MLA, Md. Abdul Nasir, shall be treated as an opposition MLA in the House," the letter added.

In the 2022 assembly elections in Manipur, the JD(U) contested alone and won six seats. However, months after the elections, five party MLAs defected to the BJP. 

'Our support to NDA would continue...'

JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad told ANI that his party's support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would continue in future.

"We are with the NDA and the state unit will continue to serve people of Manipur towards development of the state," Prasad added.

(With inputs from agencies)