NPF MLA Awangbow Newmai sworn in as Minister

IMPHAL, May 29: Naga People’s Front MLA Awangbow Newmai has been sworn in as minister in the BJP-led Manipur government.

Naga People’s Front (NPF) MLA Awangbow Newmai has been sworn in as a cabinet minister in the BJP-led coalition government of Manipur on Friday. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Manipur Raj Bhawan, Imphal.

Tamei Assembly Constituency MLA Awangbow Newmai is one of the four NPF MLAs elected in the state. The NPF, a regional party based in Nagaland, is one of the major party in the Biren Singh-led coalition government in Manipur.

The development comes nearly two months after Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar Singh was stripped of all his portfolios following a controversy over distribution of rice pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Y Joykumar belongs to National People’s Party (NPP), another major partner of the coalition with four MLAs supporting the government.

All the portfolios stripped of from Joykumar are now being held by Chief Minister N Biren Singh. However, it is not clear whether those portfolios which were earlier held by Joykumar will be handed over to Newmai.

The political atmosphere in the Biren Singh-led coalition has been quite uneasy following the failure of the BJP government to exercise the much awaited mid-term reshuffle assured.
The NPF reportedly has been demanding more cabinet berth. Given their numbers, the NPF has only one minister while its ally NPP has four ministers.

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