Imphal: Following the resignation of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, intense discussions are underway to select a new leader for the ruling BJP legislature party who will head the next government.
On Monday, BJP’s northeast in-charge, Sambit Patra, conducted a series of meetings with ministers, MLAs, and leaders from both the BJP and its allies to gather their opinions ahead of the selection of the new party leader.
A senior BJP leader indicated that the top contenders for the chief minister’s position are State Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh and Municipal Administrations, Housing, and Urban Development (MAHUD) Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh.
“The party is looking for a leader who is acceptable to both the tribal communities—Kuki-Zo-Hmar and Naga—and the majority non-tribal Meitei community,” the leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
It was revealed that, last week, central BJP leaders had called Biren Singh along with three ministers and other key figures to Delhi to discuss the political and ethnic situation in Manipur.
Satyabrata Singh and Khemchand Singh were also separately consulted on these matters.
Both are from the Meitei community, which comprises about 53% of the state’s population, while the Kuki-Zo-Hmar and Naga communities account for over 40%, living primarily in the hill districts.
Biren Singh’s resignation comes nearly two years after ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities devastated Manipur.
On Sunday, Singh submitted his resignation letter to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla a day before a crucial Assembly session, which was ultimately cancelled by the Governor late that evening.
According to a Raj Bhavan official, the Governor accepted Singh’s resignation and requested him to continue as the caretaker CM until a new arrangement is made.
Singh, accompanied by Sambit Patra, returned to Imphal from Delhi and met with the Governor to submit his resignation.
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Prior to this, Singh had met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J.P. Nadda in the national capital.
A senior party source said that Biren Singh submitted his resignation reluctantly, following instructions from central BJP leadership.
His resignation came amid escalating political tension, particularly after the Opposition Congress announced plans to bring a no-confidence motion against the BJP government during the Assembly session, which was set to start on Monday before being abruptly canceled by the Governor.
