Caretaker Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fueled speculation as to who will be in charge in Manipur.
A contender for the post is senior minister Thongam Biswajit, who, a section of the Bharatiya Janata Party seems to have missed out in 2017 despite playing a major role in building the party from scratch. This was confirmed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ahead of the two-phase elections in Manipur.
“Met Shri @NBirenSingh ji and congratulated @BJP4Manipur on the resounding victory of @BJP4Manipur in the recently concluded assembly elections. Our party is committed to work harder to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Manipur.
Delhi called
After being called by the party’s central leadership ahead of the selection of the next chief minister, Mr. Singh called on the prime minister, Mr. Biswajit and state BJP president Adhikarimayum Sharda on a chartered flight to New Delhi.
A close aide of the BJP’s decision-making body said the party was caught in a dilemma. “We can neither ignore the fact that the BJP won the Manipur election with a majority under the leadership of Mr. Singh nor the contribution of Mr. Biswajit in strengthening the party in the state,” he said.
“This is for Modiji, [Home Minister] Amit Shah and [BJP national president J.P.] Naddaji will decide who will become the next chief minister.”
A state BJP leader said the name of the chief ministerial candidate was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju – the party’s central observers for government formation – by March 20 with newly-elected MLAs in the state capital Imphal. will be held after the meeting.
Both the visits to Imphal scheduled for Wednesday have been delayed.
Mr. Nadda and BJP General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santosh held a meeting with Mr. Singh, Mr. Vishwajit and Ms. Sharda on Tuesday. A state BJP leader said Mr. Santosh is likely to meet him in person by Thursday.
The BJP had won 32 of the 60 seats in the state and is in a position to form the government on its own. But according to Mr. Singh the party was ready to forge alliances with like-minded parties.