Imphal, June 14: The BJP today demanded disqualification of the five legislators of Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), who joined the ruling Congress just before the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

The demand came after the recent disqualification of three Trinamul Congress MLAs by Speaker Thokchom Lokeshwar Singh.

The Speaker disqualified Khumukcham Joykishan Singh, Thongam Biswajit Singh and Oinam Lukhoi Singh last month on the charge of giving up Trinamul Congress membership voluntarily and forming a new party.

The three disqualified members joined the BJP last month.

While disqualifying the members, the Speaker had announced that the seats represented by the members had fallen vacant, setting the ball rolling for bypolls in these three seats.

The disqualification of the five MSCP members is pending in the Speaker's tribunal.

The five members - K. Thamarjit, Nemcha Kipgen, R.K. Imo, P. Brojen and Zanghemlung Panmei - merged with the Congress along with some of the party's office-bearers in September last year.

MSCP vice-president Adim Panmei challenged the merger and submitted a petition to the Speaker, seeking disqualification of the five MLAs under Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

"If chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and the Speaker justified the disqualification of the Trinamul Congress members, then the five MSCP legislators should also be disqualified," the BJP's national executive member Tapir Gao said while inaugurating the party's Imphal Central District office at Khuyathong here today. Khuyathong is located in Joykishan Singh's constituency of Thangmeiband.

"The disqualification of Joykishan is nothing but a contempt of the people of Thangmeiband constituency. The voters should avenge the treatment given to them by the Speaker," Gao said.

The BJP took advantage of today's programme to launch its campaign for the three bypolls, though the election schedule is yet to be notified by the Election Commission.

The BJP is buoyed by the "success" in the recently concluded election to six autonomous district councils, where it opened its account by winning 21 of the 144 seats while the Congress won 46 seats.

The NPF, which contested the council polls for the first time, won 43 seats.

"We will avenge the injustice meted out by the chief minister and the Speaker in the bypolls. We will fight and we need people's support," Gao said.

Manipur unit BJP president Thounaojam Chaoba Singh said the results of the district council polls showed rejection of the ruling Congress by the people because of its "misrule" and "financial mismanagement".

Joykishan Singh expressed confidence that he would return to the Assembly after the byelection.

"The Congress party boasts of having 48 MLAs in a 60-member House and money as well. I don't have money. But I have the support of voters of my constituency. So I am not afraid of the power of the Congress in the byelection," he said.