No decision yet on Manipur CM

Back in Imphal, contenders Biren Singh and Thongam Biswajit advise against speculative reports

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh at Parliament House on March 16, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI

Caretaker Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh and senior Minister in the last Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government, Thongam Biswajit, on Thursday clarified that the leadership issue in Manipur has not been resolved.

Both appealed to the media not to publish or broadcast “speculative reports” after returning to State capital Imphal from New Delhi. The two leaders had flown to the national capital in a chartered aircraft on Tuesday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J. P. Nadda.

While Mr. Biswajit reached Imphal in the morning, Mr. Singh returned in the afternoon with State BJP president Adhikarimayum Sharda.

“The national leaders of the BJP have not taken me into confidence about this matter [naming the next Chief Minister]. We went to Delhi to discuss various issues related to the Assembly elections,” Mr. Singh said, adding that the party’s parliamentary board could discuss the leadership and other issues.

“We are not aware of anything since we are not members. As a disciplined and well-organised political party, the selection of the new leader will be done possibly after Holi according to the rules of the party,” he said.

Holi in Manipur, called Yaoshang, is celebrated for five days.

Mr. Biswajit said they had gone to Delhi primarily to celebrate the victory of the BJP with a clear majority of 32 seats in the 60-member House. “No national BJP leader discussed the leadership matter either with me or the caretaker CM or our State president,” he told journalists.

He said the party’s central observers may come soon to end the impasse over who would become the next Chief Minister. “The higher authority will decide on the basis of the report of the observers. The directive to be given by the central leadership will be final and binding,” he added.

It is not officially known when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju, the two central observers for government formation, will visit Imphal.

Meanwhile, supporters of the newly-elected BJP legislators have been appealing through advertisements to have them inducted in the Council of Ministers. Other political parties that won up to seven Assembly seats have also been vying for the BJP’s attention to be part of the government.

“The BJP is not in a hurry to join hands with other parties,” Mr. Singh said.