Tags:
Journalism of Courage
While the BJP is likely to let its incumbent Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh continue for his second term in the wake of the party’s victory in the recent state Assembly polls, senior minister Th Biswajit Singh has emerged as another major contender for the top post.
Biren spearheaded the BJP’s campaign in the elections, in which the party clinched a majority, winning 32 out of the total 60 seats.
Senior Manipur BJP leaders, including Biren, Biswajit and state unit chief A Sharda Devi, were summoned by the party central leadership to Delhi last Tuesday for meetings.
Biren called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, which triggered speculation that the BJP may retain him as the CM.
A section of the Manipur BJP leaders and MLAs is however said to be keen that the party effects a change of guard and replaces Biren with some other leader.
As a minister in the incumbent Biren government, Biswajit has been handling several portfolios including PWD, Panchayati Raj, commerce and industries, power, and information and public relations. Jockeying for the chief ministerial position, he reportedly made a number of attempts in the past to get Biren replaced.
Biswajit was first elected as an MLA on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) ticket from Thongju constituency in 2012. He later defected to the BJP along with another TMC MLA Kh Joykishan Singh. They were subsequently disqualified under the anti-defection law. In the 2015 bypolls, they were re-elected on the BJP ticket, becoming the first saffron party MLAs in Manipur after over two decades.
In the run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections, Joykishan switched to the Congress. Biswajit, however, chose to remain with the BJP, becoming its face in the state. However, ahead of the polls, Biren, who was then a senior Congress leader and minister, also defected to the BJP.
When the BJP formed its government in Manipur then after outsmarting the Congress, which had emerged as the single largest party in the elections, it picked Biren as the CM.
Meanwhile, Biswajit returned to Imphal on Thursday morning alone, followed by Biren and Sharda Devi.
“The meeting with central leaders was to celebrate the victory of BJP in the recent Manipur election. There was no discussion on who will be the leader of state BJP legislature,” Biswajit told reporters at the Imphal airport.
He cited the ongoing Parliament session as the reason for the delay in the selection of the Manipur BJP legislature party leader.
On reports that Biren may continue as the CM, Biswajit reportedly said it was speculation.
Sharda Devi said the BJP high command will take a decision about the
BJP legislature party leader and that the central party observers will soon arrive in Imphal in this connection.
