Imphal: Ahead of the 2022 Manipur legislative assembly elections, the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has suspended Khumukcham Joykisan Singh, MLA of Thangmeiband constituency, on Tuesday for his alleged anti-party activities.
The decision to expel the MLA was recommended by a disciplinary action committee of Manipur state unit of Congress party.
Announcing this to the media, T Mangibabu Singh, Working President of MPCC, said that the MLA had detached himself from the party since the last year and also failed to attend meetings called by the party more than three times consecutively.
The Working President further added that Joykisan has the repentance of leaving the BJP and joining Congress before the 2017 state assembly elections.
Hareshwar Goswami, General Secretary, MPCC said in an order that on the recommendation of the Disciplinary Action Committee, MPCC, the president, MPCC has decided to suspend Joykisan Singh from the Indian National Congress (INC) under Article XIX of the Constitution of the Indian National Congress read with Clause(h) of ‘Miscellaneous’ provided under Article XXVII of the said Constitution.
On his suspension, Joykisan ceased to be a primary member of the Indian National Congress with immediate effect. After the expulsion, it is also believed that Joykisan may return to the BJP.
Meanwhile, General Secretary of AICC, KC Venugopal on Monday appointed Dr Kh Ratankumar Singh, former minister, as the Working President of MPCC. The appointment of Ratankumar came after rumours of him joining other political parties and submitting a resignation letter to relieve him from different posts in the party.
According to local media reports, Ratankumar launched an internal revolt against the leadership of the Congress party in Manipur and initiated talks with other political parties to join. The Congress party that has been losing its MLAs and prospective candidates decided to appoint him as Working President and prevent him from joining another party.
State President of JD (U) in a press conference on Monday confirmed about Ratankumar leaving Congress and joining JD (U) and said that representative of JD (U) had met the former Congress Minister and finalized to join the party just a few hours ago he was elevated as Working President of Congress.
Further, the JD (U) President also informed that the party is in talks with more than 10 Congress MLAs and ex-MLAs to shift their camp ahead of the assembly polls.
The Congress party has seen its MLAs and leaders switch sides to other political parties in the last few days. After the suspension of Joykisan the Congress party, which had won 28 seats in the 2017 legislative assembly elections, has only 13 MLAs in the 60 seats Manipur Legislative Assembly.
