Manipuri actor Rajkumar Somendra quits BJP

Imphal: Celebrated Manipuri actor Rajkumar Somendra popularly known as ‘Kaiku’ on Thursday resigned from the primary membership of BJP over the state government’s ‘inept handling of the current ethnic turmoil and the brutal murder of two students,’ party sources said.

Kaiku, who has acted in around 400 films, submitted his resignation to the leadership of the party’s state unit even as its top leaders requested him to reconsider his decision.

A resident of Thangmeiband area in Imphal West, Kaiku contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as an Independent candidate and later joined the BJP in November 2021.