Manipur Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, and Water Resources, Letpao Haokip, representing the National People’s Party (NPP) resigned from the party on Wednesday and formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi. He was elected on an NPP ticket from the Chandel Assembly constituency in the previous elections. In the 60-member House, the NPP had bagged four seats, with two berths as Ministers.
Perhaps it became clear to Mr. Haokip that his constituency was no longer a safe bet for him. Recently, he had announced that he would contest the forthcoming elections from the Tengnoupal Assembly constituency, which is situated in another district.
Reacting to the news of Mr. Haokip’s move to the BJP, Yumnam Joykumar, Deputy Chief Minister and national vice president of the NPP said, “The party shall suffer no loss because of his resignation. All of us wish him success in all his ventures.”
Mr. Joykumar further said that he had heard of Mr. Haokip’s plan to change his constituency but it came as a surprise that he had changed his party.
Former Education and Health Minister L. Jayantakukmar recently said that Chief Minister N. Biren had approached him several times, urging him to join the BJP. However, he remained unmoved and said that he would contest the elections as an NPP candidate.
