English
Imphal: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central observers Nirmala Sitharaman, Kiren Rijiju and other BJP MLAs on Sunday unanimously elected N Biren Singh as chief minister of Manipur for the second term. Singh and senior BJP MLA Th Biswajit Singh were earlier seen as the top contenders for the CM’s post after the saffron party returned to power for the second time in a row in the state.
“It is a good decision taken unanimously by everyone. It will ensure that Manipur has a stable & responsible govt which will build further because the Centre today under the leadership of PM Modi gives special attention to Northeastern states,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
After the election results were announced, Biren Singh, Th Biswajit and BJP state president A Sharda Devi had gone to Delhi on March 15 amid reports of “groupism” within the party and returned to Imphal on March 17.
#WATCH | BJP central observers Nirmala Sitharaman, Kiren Rijiju and other BJP MLAs felicitate the unanimously elected Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh in Imphal. pic.twitter.com/2vfgco20SZ
— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2022
Social media was abuzz with speculations about which one of the two will become the next chief minister. The decision will be made by the BJP Parliamentary Board.
The BJP returned to power in the insurgency-affected Manipur, picking up 32 seats in a house of 60.
It had managed to form a government in 2017 despite having just 21 seats compared to Congress’s 28 by joining hands with two local parties – NPP and NPF. However, this time around, the BJP contested alone and managed to win a majority on the plank that a vote for the party would bring peace to the troubled state – both in the valley and the hills where tribals hold the ground.
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