GUWAHATI: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh is confident the BJP will retain power with absolute majority and there is no question of a hung Assembly.
“The question of a hung House will not arise. I am not saying it without any basis. I am calculative,” Singh told journalists amid the perception of a fractured mandate.
Singh’s arithmetic and resultant belief stem from the possible victory of the BJP’s 29 sitting MLAs.
“There are 60 seats and we have fielded 29 sitting MLAs. Their winnability is very high,” he claimed, adding, “It will be very easy for the BJP to add another 11 to the tally to achieve two-thirds majority.”
BJP ally National People’s Party (NPP) as well as opposition Congress pooh-poohed Singh’s claim and asked him to be realistic.
The NPP said the BJP would win a maximum of 15-17 seats – around 10-12 in the Imphal valley and not more than five in the hills. There are 40 seats in the valley and 20 in the hills.
“Of the 29 BJP MLAs fielded, not more than four are winning. This is the harsh ground reality,” NPP state general secretary Sheikh Noorul Hassan told The New Indian Express, reacting to Singh’s claim.
The Congress said it is the BJP’s nature to always “exceed reality”. “Everyone, including the CM, knows the BJP will not get an absolute majority,” Congress spokesperson K Debabrata said.
“How can he claim about getting absolute majority when the BJP’s half of the winnable candidates were not given tickets? They all deserted the party taking along their supporters and voters,” the Congress spokesperson said.
He said the Congress would not claim about getting the absolute majority but leave the matter to the voters.
Political analyst Pradip Phanjoubam said the CM might claim anything but things in the BJP were uncertain after the “split” in the party. He was alluding to the exodus of several BJP leaders, including MLAs, following the denial of tickets.
“We have to wait and watch. Anybody can claim anything. The Congress or the NPP might gain from the split in the BJP. The NPP is no longer in the alliance. They (NPP and BJP) are shouting at each other,” Phanjoubam said.
He felt the NPP, Congress and Janata Dal (United) would win a good number of seats. Several BJP leaders defected to these parties after being denied tickets.