Imphal, March 15: Northeast’s strongman P.A. Sangma’s party, the National Peoples Party (NPP), today received a jolt with the Manipur unit of the party joining the BJP en masse.

The Manipur unit BJP president Thounaojam Chaoba Singh announced the joining of the NPP party leaders led by its president V. Hangkhanlian at a function held at the BJP head office here today.

“We have decided to join the BJP after observing the political trend in the country for one year and realising that the BJP can provide a people-friendly administration and improve the condition of the poor people in the state, particularly those in the hills,” Hangkhanlian, who hails from Churachandpur district, said.

The NPP with Sangma as its president has one MP in Lok Sabha and two MLAs in the Meghalaya state Assembly.

The secretary of the Manipur unit, H. Siamchinkhup, and treasurer S. John Gangte of the NPP were also present at the function organised to welcome the leaders of the NPP.

The NPP’s entry has boosted the morale of the BJP, which is eyeing to capture power in the next state Assembly election, scheduled to be held in 2017.

The NPP is the second splinter party to join the BJP in the past four days. 

Leaders and workers of Manipur State Congress Party (regional party), who refused to be a party when all the five MLAs and majority of the party leaders joined the ruling Congress just before the Lok Sabha election last year, also joined the BJP on Thursday.

The merging of the NPP, which has a strong base in the hilly district of Churachandpur, will strengthen the hands of the BJP in the autonomous district council elections. The election to the six district councils is scheduled for later this year.

“We will fight the ruling Congress in the autonomous district council election. After the NPP’s entry, we are confident that the BJP can put up a real fight against the ruling party,” Chaoba Singh said.

With the CPI and other national and regional parties in no position to pose a challenge to the Congress, which is ruling the state for the third consecutive term, the BJP is emerging as the only alternative.

Though the BJP does not have a single member in the 60-member state Assembly, at present, political heavyweights are making a beeline for the BJP.

The BJP is currently on a drive for mass enrolment of members. Chaoba Singh said the list of the party members, including the newly admitted ones would be published after March.

Chaoba Singh said some non-Congress MLAs would join the BJP in the next few days. He, however, declined to announce the names of the MLAs, who are likely to join his party.