Supported BJP with party's permission, I'm still in TMC: Robindro

Manipur's only Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker T. Robindro Singh, who sided with the ruling BJP-led alliance during the trust vote on Monday, said he had taken the step with the permission of his party.

Singh said he was still with the TMC.

"I am still with Trinamool Congress... This is state politics. There are some differences between central politics and state politics," Singh told television channel Star Ananda.

Justifying his decision to back the ruling alliance, he said people in Manipur wanted a change.

"The Congress ruled for 15 years at a stretch. So there was no change. After hearing the voice of the people, I have supported those who are forming the government. With the permission of my party high command, I have taken the step," he said.

Manipur's new Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, heading the state's first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, on Monday won the floor test in the assembly by voice vote.

The floor test took place 11 days after assembly elections threw up a fractured verdict and five days after the Biren Singh ministry was sworn in.

In the 60-member house, the BJP won 21 seats and the Congress 28.

But the BJP joined hands with the Naga People's Front (NPF) and the National People's Party (NPP), which have four legislators each, and was backed by an Independent and a member each from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the TMC.

--IANS

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