RSS-backed Yumnam Khemchand Singh emerges as third option for Manipur chief minister
Imphal:
The third contender for the chief minister’s post in Manipur, supported by the BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has come to the fore. RSS-backed leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh was called to Delhi yesterday by the BJP leadership, along with caretaker Chief Minister N Biren Singh and another contender for the top post, Biswajit Singh.
Sources said an option would be for the BJP to avoid infighting between RSS-backed leaders Biren Singh and Vishwajit Singh.
Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Kiren Rijiju are going to Manipur capital Imphal today, where they are likely to announce the election of BJP’s chief minister in the northeastern state.
The BJP formed the government in Manipur after its victory in the recent assembly elections. This will be the party’s second consecutive term in Manipur.
Yesterday in Delhi the BJP leadership met Biren Singh and Biswajit Singh. Both have also left for Imphal today.
The two Union ministers, who are the party’s central observers in Manipur, will meet local leaders in Imphal today, after which they are likely to announce the chief minister’s election.
Sources said the BJP’s central leadership has heard both Biren Singh and Vishwajit Singh at length.
Although the BJP did not formally announce the chief ministerial face in Manipur, the party contested the elections under the leadership of Biren Singh, who campaigned across the state.
BJP sources told NDTV that Biswajit Singh has been in the BJP longer than Biren Singh, but the latter was elected to the top post after the 2017 elections.
For the BJP, which won the state by a meager margin of 32 out of 60 seats, the matter will need to be handled tactfully. Compromising for any leader can mean trouble with the rival faction.
Biswajit Singh recently said, “There is no group between us, that’s for sure. The BJP is a democratic party, and the leadership will decide it (the chief minister’s issue).”