Manipur floor test: Chief Minister Biren Singh proved majority in Assembly.
After winning the crucial trust vote in the Manipur Assembly with 32 votes, Chief Minister N Biren Singh thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it was a measure of his success and the party's. The BJP, which was the second largest party winning 21 seats out of the 60 in the state assembly, needed another 10 to prove majority. It stitched together the number with support from local parties and an Independent. The Congress, which won 28 seats, was unable to get the support of three legislators it needs to prove majority. A three-day Budget session of the Assembly will begin tomorrow with the address of the Governor.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:
"It is not my success, but the BJP's, the Prime Minister's success in Manipur," Chief Minister Biren Singh said after the trust vote.
The BJP got the support of four legislators each from the Naga Peoples' Front and the National Peoples' Party; the lone legislator of the LJP, Independent legislator Asab Uddin and Congress legislator. The lone Trinamool Congress legislator, T Robindro Singh, also extended support to the BJP-led government though his party's central leadership said he had "not consulted the party" over it.
Earlier in the day, Yumnam Khemchand Singh of the BJP was elected as the new Speaker of the House. He was also elected by voice vote against Congress candidate Govindas Khonthoujam.
As in Goa -- where it won the trust vote despite Congress winning the most seats -- the BJP distributed most of the ministerial portfolios in Manipur to local allies with the hope of retaining their support for the crucial trust vote.
The National People's Party was given two ministerial berths, including that of the Deputy Chief Minister, a post being held by Joykumar Singh. The Naga People's Front got three ministerial berths. The lone LJP legislator and Thounaojam Shyamkumar Singh, who defected from Congress, were also made minsters.
Besides the Chief Minister, the BJP has so far kept one ministerial berth for itself -- Thongam Biswajit Singh, who was a contender for the top post.
Ahead of the trust vote, The BJP had kept its lawmakers at a secluded hotel in Assam's Guwahati to keep them from being influenced by the rival party. The 27 legislators of Congress have been kept at the house of an MLA in Imphal for a similar reason.
N Biren Singh - a former footballer and Congressman who joined the BJP in October 2016-- had taken oath as the Chief Minister on March 15, along with eight ministers of his new cabinet.
On the eve of the trust vote, the new government successfully lifted the Naga economic blockade that had crippled the state's supply lines for the last 130 days. The blockade -- led by the United Naga Council -- ended last evening after talks with the central and state governments.
No party received simple majority in the recently concluded assembly election in the state. The Congress, who ruled the state for the last 15 years, emerged as a single largest party with 28 seats. The BJP, which made its debut in Manipur this year, went from zero to 21 seats. The party won the crucial elections in Assam last year and also controls Arunachal Pradesh.
