After 15 years of no visible progress, Congress dynastic politics finally comes to an end in the Northeast. Former Manipur Congress chief Govindas Konthoujam on Sunday joined the BJP. The list of Congress leaders joining the BJP has significantly increased. The way things are unfolding, Congress leaders in Manipur are ensuring that Congress does not come to power in the state.
Konthoujam was formally inducted into the BJP by Manipur Chief Minister and Biren Singh at party headquarters in New Delhi. CM N Biren Singh said ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come into power at the Centre, Manipur has been peaceful and doing well. “I was also in Congress. But if the driver is asleep, how will the vehicle move? There was violence, strike, bandh. But since PM Modi’s government came in, things have been peaceful,” the CM said.
All the northeastern states have witnessed a lot of political change in the coming years, apart from Manipur, even Assam has lately witnessed a lot of powerful figures resign from the Congress party and join the BJP. The Congress rule ended in Assam when the current Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, defected to the BJP in 2016 and created history. BJP is strengthening its fort before the assembly elections held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and now in the northeast as well.
Manipur Assembly election is due next year, while resigning as the Congress’s Manipur unit chief last month, he said he had taken the step due to “personal reasons”. Govindas Konthoujam is a six-time Congress MLA from Bishnupur in Manipur. He was appointed MPCC president in December 2020.
Addressing the media, Konthoujam said; Keeping in mind the assembly elections to be held next year he will work dedicatedly for the party. He also met party president JP Nadda after the press conference. The Manipur CM further thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking care of the North-East.
“PM Narendra Modi has cared for the North East, and recently five ministers from the region have been inducted into the Union cabinet. Manipur promises to make Modi govt stronger,” he said.
The Congress knocked on Supreme Court doors, challenging the defection of its MLAs in phases from 2018 to 2020. The party filed a petition in the court seeking disqualification of 12 MLAs who were sworn in as Parliamentary secretaries on March 23, 2017.
In the last few months, BJP has changed the whole graph of the northeast. Many big leaders have joined the BJP. Just like the former President of Manipur Congress, eight more congress leaders are expected to leave the party and join BJP in Manipur. The BJP has won the support of the people in the northeast part of India. The Modi government is very much committed towards development of Northeast, it has made tremendous efforts to improve the condition in the region.