Following reports that the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United (JDU) had withdrawn its support for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Manipur, the JDU chief on Wednesday, January 22, sacked the party’s Manipur unit president, Ksh Biren Singh, to address rising speculation over the party’s ties with the BJP.

Party’s national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan said Singh’s removal was due to indiscipline and asserted that the party would continue to support the BJP-led government in the northeastern state.

Ranjan affirmed that the JD(U) remains committed to supporting the BJP-led NDA, not just in Manipur but across the country.

“Our party has worked diligently to strengthen the NDA and will continue to do so,” he added.

Ranjan’s remark came shortly after Ksh Biren Singh claimed that the party had withdrawn support to the BJP-led Biren Singh government and informed its decision to governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

The state unit chief had also claimed that the lone JDU MLA in the state, Md Abdul Nasir, will sit in the opposition benches.

In a letter to governor Bhalla, Ksh Biren Singh said, “After JD (U) became part of India Bloc, support to the BJP led government was withdrawn by JD(U)… as such, seating arrangement of the lone MLA of JD(U) in Manipur Md Abdul Nasir is made in the opposition bench in the last session of the Assembly by the Speaker.”

It is pertinent to note that the JDU is in an integral coalition with the BJP at the Center.