New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju will travel to Imphal, the capital of Manipur, on Sunday, March 20, to attend the legislative party meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Manipur. At the meeting, Manipur caretaker Chief Minister N Biren Singh and BJP leader Biswajit Singh will also be present, along with other newly-elected BJP MLAs in Manipur. The next Chief Minister of Manipur is likely to be decided at the meeting.
“The Legislative party meeting of BJP Manipur is likely to take place at 3 pm on Sunday,” sources told news agency ANI.
In the 2022 Manipur Assembly Elections, Biren Singh and Biswajit Singh won Heingang and Thongju assembly constituencies respectively. The BJP leaders are being seen as frontrunners for the Chief Minister’s post in Manipur. They left for Delhi on Saturday, in separate flights, to meet the party’s central leaders, news agency PTI reported. At the national capital, they are discussing government formation with the party’s top leadership.
The next Chief Minister of Manipur has not been declared yet. BJP sources told PTI that the one who will become the chief minister of Manipur this time will probably be known by Sunday.
According to an ANI report, Biren Singh had said that he never contested elections “for CM or any other post” but as a worker of his party, the BJP. He said that he has come to Delhi to meet BJP’s central leadership.
“I never contested elections for CM or any other post but as a worker of my party. The decision (on CM’s face) will be taken by higher authorities. I’ve come to Delhi to meet BJP’s central leadership. Chief Minister or no chief Minister, I am somebody who has worked in the interest of the party and will continue to do so,” an ANI report quoted Biren Singh as saying.
Biswajit Singh, who is being seen as another frontrunner for the post of Chief Minister of Manipur, has also refused to comment on speculations doing rounds on social media about him in the race for the next Chief Minister of the state.
Biswajit Singh told media persons in New Delhi that he does not want to comment on reports that he is in the race to become the next Chief Minister of Manipur. He said that the BJP is a democratic party, and that the leadership will decide the Chief Minister, ANI reported.
In the 2022 Manipur Assembly Elections, Biren Singh and Biswajit Singh won Heingang and Thongju assembly constituencies respectively. The BJP leaders were seen as contenders for the Chief Minister’s post in Manipur. They left for Delhi on Saturday, in separate flights, to meet the party’s central leaders, news agency PTI reported. At the national capital, they are discussing government formation with the party’s top leadership.
BJP sources told PTI that the one who will become the chief minister of Manipur this time will probably be known by Sunday.
On March 15, Biren Singh, Biswajit Singh, and BJP State President A Sharda Devi had gone to Delhi, amid reports of “groupism” within the BJP. The leaders returned to Imphal on March 17.
The BJP Parliamentary Board will decide the next chief minister of the state.
The BJP bagged 32 out 60 seats in the assembly elections in Manipur. Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress won five seats, the National People’s Party (NPP) bagged seven seats, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) won five seats and the Kuki People’s Alliance won two seats. Independents won three seats.
In the 2017 assembly elections in Manipur, the BJP had managed to form the government despite having just 21 seats, by forming an alliance with two local parties, National People’s Party (NPP), and Naga People’s Front (NPF). Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress had won 28 seats.
In this year’s assembly elections, the BJP contested alone. While campaigning before the elections, the party had promised to bring peace to Manipur, both in the valley and the hills where the tribals hold ground.