Our Correspondent
Imphal, Jan. 4 (EMN): Congress MLA D Korungthang has resigned as member of Manipur Legislative Assembly ahead of the upcoming Manipur assembly elections, likely to be held before March.
MLA Korungthang, who is the sitting MLA from Tengnoupal assembly constituency in Tengnoupal district bordering Myanmar, had submitted his resignation paper to the state assembly authority on Monday.
In an official bulletin issued in this regard on Tuesday, the Secretary of Manipur Legislative Assembly said, “Shri D Korungthang elected from 42-Tengnoupal (ST) Assembly Constituency has resigned his membership from the Manipur Legislative Assembly.”
“Consequent upon his resignation, 42-Tengnoupal (ST) Assembly Constituency is now lying vacant with effect from Tuesday, the 4th January 2022,”it stated.
When Eastern Mirror contacted Korungthang, he shared that he will take a decision for further steps ‘very soon’. But he did not disclose the reasons for his resignation, stating that he was ‘attending a programme’ at the time of the phone call. With his resignation, the strength of the Congress has declined to 16 in the house of 60 members.
Meanwhile, AICC removed Korungthang from the post of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) working president and suspended him from the party for his "anti-party activities." MPCC President N Loken announced this during a press conference in Imphal on Tuesday.
On December 29 last year, Youth affairs and Sports Minister Letpao Haokip who represented the National People’s Party (NPP) in the assembly resigned from the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi.
Letpao, an international footballer turned politician, was elected on an NPP ticket from Chandel Assembly Constituency in 2017 Assembly Elections. In the 60-member Manipur Assembly, NPP had won four seats with two berths as ministers.
In 2017 assembly elections, Congress emerged as the single largest party in the state by winning 28 seats out of 60 seats. However, despite winning 21 seats to Congress’s 28, BJP was able to form government in Manipur in 2017 with the support of four NPP MLAs, four Naga People's Front MLAs and one MLA each from TMC, Lok Janshakti Party and an Independent.