No consensus over CM pick, President's Rule imposed in Manipur

President's Rule was imposed in Manipur on Thursday, days after Biren Singh stepped down as Chief Minister. The BJP leadership had been holding talks for the next chief minister, but no consensus could be arrived at. Singh resigned on Sunday (February 9). The development came hours after Singh returned from Delhi after meeting Home Minister Amit Shah. Singh had been defying the opposition's demand to step down as CM of the ethnic violence-hit state where trouble broke out 21 months ago in May 2023.

Despite several rounds of discussions between BJP’s northeast in-charge Sambit Patra and party legislators, the deadlock persisted with some lawmakers suggesting that the final decision may rest with the Centre. Patra had met Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla twice over the past two days.

On Tuesday, Patra, accompanied by state party president A Sharda Devi, held talks with Bhalla, and on Wednesday, he met the governor again. Patra also held a meeting with BJP MLAs, including state consumer affairs minister L Susindro and MLA Karam Shyam, to discuss the situation.

Shyam had said there was no constitutional crisis following Singh's decision to step down and the ongoing issues would be resolved by the Centre with the help of legislators. Responding to a question on the expiry of the maximum six-month interval between two consecutive sessions of the state assembly, Shyam said, "Let's see what happens".

Congress MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar, meanwhile, questioned the purpose of Patra's visit to the state and asked if he intended to resolve the leadership crisis. The Congress legislator said Patra should have taken the lead to appoint a new CM by discussing with the BJP MLAs. "His visit is to ensure that there is no assembly session and the issues of the state remain sidelined. So far, he has not made any comment either," the former Speaker added.

Meanwhile, experts have warned that with no one staking claim to form the government so far, the BJP-ruled Manipur may head towards a constitutional crisis. If the situation remains so, the state is likely to be under President's rule, they said.

The Governor has already declared the seventh session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly, which was set to commence on February 10, as null and void. The last session of the assembly in the restive state concluded on August 12, 2024.