India, May 29 -- At least 44 MLAs are ready to form a new popular government in Manipur, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Thokchom Radheshyam Singh said on Wednesday after meeting Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

Manipur has been under the President's Rule since February 13, four days after BJP leader N Biren Singh resigned as the chief minister, amid criticisms about his government's handling of the ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities that broke out on May 3, 2023.

Talking to reporters outside the Raj Bhavan in Imphal, Singh said that he, along with nine other MLAs, met the governor to formally inform him of the support for a new government.

"Forty-four MLAs are ready to form a government as per the wishes of the p...