BJP may forgo Kshetrigao, MPP urged to do the same

IMPHAL, April 11: The state BJP is unlikely to put up any candidate for the by-elections to Kshetrigao Assembly constituency, scheduled to take place next month, according to reliable sources. The Kshetrigao seat was vacated following the sudden demise of Wangkhem Basantakumar, the lone Samata Party MLA in the current Assembly and party president on January 26 last. According to sources, newly elected BJP chief, Jana Krishnamurthi, has assured Sambhu Shrivastava, secretary of the Samata Party, that the BJP would not contest the Kshetrigao by-elections. Krishnamurthi, in a letter to Shrivastava, also expressed confidence in the continued close relationship between the two parties. In the meantime, Samata Party state unit chief O Lohrii Mao has written to the MPP president O Joy Singh urging the latter not to field any MPP candidate for the by-elections. In his letter, Lohrii reminded O Joy that the late Wangkhem Basantakumar had worked sincerely to make it possible for the People's Front government to come to power, and considering this, urged him to leave the field clear for the Samata Party candidate.