In Manipur, six Congress MLAs have submitted their resignations to the Speaker. They are among the eight MLAs of the MLA Congress who did not attend the one-day session of the assembly on Monday in violation of the party whip. In this session, the BJP-led N Biren Singh government won the trust vote.

Apart from MLA Henry Singh from Wangkhai assembly constituency, those who resigned are Oinum Lukhoi (Wangoi seat), Mohammad Abdul Nasir (Lilong seat), Ponam Brojan (Wangjing Tenth seat), Nagmathang Hokip (Satu seat) and Ginsuanhu (Singhat seat).

These MLAs, citing lack of confidence in the leadership of O Ibobi Singh, said that because of them, the Congress failed to form a government in the state even when it was the single largest party in the state.

Henry Singh said that Speaker Yumanam Khemchand Singh called him on Monday night after the assembly session and examined his resignation letter. He said that the Speaker has not yet accepted his resignation. Henry Singh said he would resign from party membership in the evening.

Even though the victory of the government in the confidence vote was already certain, the absence of eight Congress MLAs in the crucial session has shown the political stakes of the Chief Minister. In the 60-member assembly, the number of sitting MLAs, including the Speaker, is 53. The Speaker could use his vote if there were equal votes.

Earlier, four members of the assembly were disqualified and three members of the BJP resigned some time back. The ruling NDA coalition had 29 MLAs, including the president, while the Congress had 24 MLAs. Of these, eight Congress MLAs did not attend the session.