New Delhi: Members of the legislative assembly from parties of the National Democratic Alliance met Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan today claiming the support of over 40 MLAs and willingness to form the government in the state.Indian Express reported that a group of 10 MLAs visited the governor claiming that they had had the support of 44 MLAs. The Hindu reports a slightly different version – that more than 40 MLAs themselves converged at the Imphal Raj Bhawan to meet the governor.Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February. The Bharatiya Janata Party was in power until then. The assembly in Manipur has 60 seats.Indian Express has reported that the 10 MLAs comprise seven from the BJP, two from the NPP and one independent. The report said the BJP MLAs are Yumnam Radheshyam Singh, Thockchom Radheshyam Singh, Lourembam Rameshwar Meitei, Thangjam Arunkumar, Kh. Raghumani Singh, Kongkham Robindro Singh, and Paonam Brojen Singh.The NPP’s Sheikh Noorul Hassan and Janghemliung were part of the delegation, according to the report. The Independent MLA was Sapam Nishikanta.According to PTI, BJP legislator Thokchom Radheshyam Singh spoke to reporters after his meeting with the governor and said that the 44 legislators were ready to form the government.“Forty-four MLAs are ready to form a government as per the wishes of the people. We have conveyed this to the governor. We also discussed what solutions can be there for the issue,” he was quoted as having said.“The governor noted what we had to say and will initiate actions in the best interests of the people,” he added.Singh said that central leadership of the BJP will take the decision as to whether these MLAs will stake the claim to form the government.“However, to inform that we are ready is similar to staking a claim to form a government. Speaker Th. Satyabrata has individually and jointly met the 44 MLAs. There is no one who opposes the formation of a new government,” Singh said.The MLAs who ostensibly do not support the formation of the new government are the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs and the five from the Congress.A single seat is empty after the death of an MLA.The Indian Express report noted that on April 29, a group of 21 NDA MLAs had submitted letters to both the Prime Minister and the Union home minister seeking the installation of a popular government in the state.This list, it says, did not include former chief minister N. Biren Singh or the circle of MLAs believed to be close to him.COCOMI protestsMeanwhile, protesters under the banner of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) in the Imphal Valley are beginning to lock Union government offices, including the state’s Chief Electoral Officer’s quarters, and the office of the Geological Survey of India.COCOMI had announced mass protests on May 26. The New Indian Express reports that the protests were against the alleged instruction by security personnel to conceal the words “Manipur State Transport” displayed on a state-run bus in which a media team was travelling to Ukhrul to cover the Shirui Lily festival.The state government has ordered a probe into the incident.