'It has been an honour': Biren Singh resigns as Manipur chief minister

N Biren Singh tendered his resignation as Manipur Chief Minister on February 9 to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan.

Singh was accompanied by 14 MLAs belonging to the BJP and NPF. State BJP president A Sharda and senior party leader Sambit Patra was also part of the delegation.

After meeting the governor, Singh went to the CM secretariat.

In his letter to the governor, Singh said, "It has been an honour to serve the people of Manipur thus far. I am extremely grateful to the central government for time actions, interventions, developmental work and implementation of various projects for safeguarding the interests of every single Manipuri."

This comes hours after he returned from Delhi.

On February 8, Singh convened a meeting with BJP-led ruling alliance MLAs at the CM Secretariat in connection with the upcoming assembly session beginning February 10.

The meeting was held in the wake of the opposition Congress seeking to move a no-confidence motion against the government led by Singh.

Biren Singh's resignation came soon after he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and returned to Manipur.

The BJP has 32 MLAs in Manipur Assembly, along with additional support from five legislators of the Naga People's Front and six from the JD(U).

Despite the withdrawal of support by ally Conrad Sangma's National People's Party, the BJP maintains a comfortable majority. 

The Congress holds five seats in Manipur's 60-member Assembly, while the opposition National People's Party (NPP) has seven legislators. Additionally, there are three Independent MLAs and two members representing the Kuki People's Alliance.

Notably, the 7th session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly is scheduled to begin on Monday, February 10.

(With inputs from PTI)