Imphal, May 2: The move by regional political parties in Manipur to unite before the Assembly elections is not making much headway with some parties deciding not to join the proposed conglomerate.

The parties had in October last year proposed an amalgamation of all the regional parties in the state to fight the ruling Congress and CPI combine as a single entity at the hustings.

The term of the Secular Progressive Front, led by Okram Ibobi Singh, ends in March 2007 and the Assembly polls are slated to be held at the end of this year or early next year.

Four Opposition parties ? the Federal Party of Manipur (FPM), the Manipur People?s Party (MPP), the Democratic Revolutionary People?s Party (DRPP) and the Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), which is part of the ruling coalition, held hectic consultations in this regard. Their proposal was to do away with the existing entities and come together under a new banner.

However, after six months of relentless efforts, only three parties ? two of them splinter groups ? have agreed to the plan.

The Federal Party of Manipur (FPM), which is the largest Opposition in the state, is likely to join hands with the Okram Joy Singh faction of the Manipur People?s Party (MPP) and the Democratic Revolutionary Peoples Party (DRPP), which is a splinter group of the Revolutionary Peoples Party (RPP).

The three groups have formed a preparatory committee with former deputy chief minister L. Chandramani Singh as the convenor to finalise their unification. The panel will decide the name of the new party, Chandramani Singh said.

?National parties have failed to protect the interests of smaller ethnic groups.

The main idea behind the unification move is to defeat the national parties, particularly the Congress, in the election. We will jointly fight in the Imphal Municipal Council and Assembly polls,? Joy Singh said.

Manipur now has as many as six regional parties ? the FPM, the MPP, the DRPP, the Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), the Naga National Party (NNP) and the newly- floated United Peoples Democratic Party (UPDP).

The MSCP chose to back out after showing some initial interest.

Though the Joy Singh-led MPP fully supports the idea, the other group, at present led by L. Borajao Singh, is reportedly opposed to the idea. The MPP is the oldest regional party of Manipur.

Even as the unity move was on, another regional party was floated last month.

Political leaders, including former ministers and MLAs ? mostly from the hills, floated the United Peoples Democratic Party in a convention held in Imphal on April 21.

Tharmi Simray, president of the new party, said his party would try to help resolve the Naga political issue, among other things.

According to a senior Opposition leader, the unity effort could not yield the desired result because the Opposition is a divided house.

?The Opposition is sharply divided. Without joining hands the Opposition has little chance of defeating the Congress,? he said.