Imphal: Amid speculations of leadership change, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has flown to New Delhi from Imphal, likely at the request of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Singh took a flight at around 1:40pm Wednesday afternoon.
Sources said Singh’s sudden departure to the national capital could be because of the BJP High command contemplating his removal. He is scheduled to meet Home Minister Amit Shah later in the evening. On Monday, Manipur’s Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD&PR) Minister, Yumnam Khemchand, was summoned to Delhi for a meeting with Shah the next day.
These developments come ahead of the seventh session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly. On 27 January, Amit Shah invited Speaker Th Satyabrata to the capital for a meeting, which was followed by several rounds of discussions between the Union Home Minister and some of the Ministers and MLAs of the BJP-led government in Manipur.
Before leaving for Delhi, Khemchand reportedly met with some BJP MLAs in Imphal who expressed dissatisfaction with Chief Minister N Biren’s leadership and his handling of the almost two-year-long ethnic conflict, sources said.
Earlier, EastMojo reported that 16 BJP MLAs might withdraw support and revolt against Biren Singh ahead of the assembly session starting 10 February. A BJP MLA on condition of anonymity said efforts are underway to also coordinate with five legislators each from the Congress and the National People’s Party (NPP), two MLAs from the Naga People’s Front (NPF), and two Independent MLAs — to mount pressure on the government.
In another crucial development, on 7 February, the Manipur Speaker’s tribunal will hear the anti-defection case against five Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MLAs who had joined the ruling BJP, just weeks after winning the 2022 Assembly elections.
Also Read: Manipur: Are BJP MLAs planning a revolt against N Biren Singh?