IMPHAL, Nov 9 - BJP candidate Mayanglangbam Rameshwar who had secured the second place in the 2017 Assembly elections, was on Monday sworn in as a member of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, after the election of Congress candidate Y Surchandra was declared null and void by the high court last week.
Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new MLA at his office chamber at the Assembly premises in Imphal. Chief Minister N Biren Singh, ministers, MLAs and MPs attended the swearing-in ceremony held maintaining COVID-19 protocol.
Rameshwar (48) was named as the elected member of Kakching constituency after the election of Surchandra was declared null and void over non-disclosure of information in the election affidavit by a single bench of the High Court of Manipur on November 5.
In the 2017 elections, Surchandra (65) was declared the winner from Kakching, after winning with 11,133 votes, while Rameshwar got 10,503 votes.
Ahead of the Rajya Sabha election in June this year, Surchandra who had served as a Congress MLA was disqualified under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. Since then, the seat for Kakching had been lying vacant in the 11th Manipur Legislative Assembly.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony, Biren Singh welcomed the high court ruling, saying that the legislature, judiciary and executive have separate functions and powers in a democracy.
Responding to a question, Rameshwar said his priority was to implement the vision of the Chief Minister. On the court verdict, he said it was a landmark judgement.
