Manipur: BJP MLAs meet in Delhi to discuss peace process

Guwahati: The BJP MLAs held a meeting at the party headquarters in Delhi on Sunday and discussed the peace process and formation of popular government in the state.

A BJP leader said the meeting was attended by more than 30 BJP MLAs, including former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh.

He said that two senior Union BJP leaders -- National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh and the party's Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra. Manipur BJP President Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi also attended the crucial meeting.


The BJP in a post on its official X account said: "The Manipur BJP Legislature Party meeting was held today at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, in the presence of BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh ji and party's Northeast Coordinator Sambit Patra ji."

The discussion centred on the peace and progress of Manipur, the BJP said in an X post.

BJP MLAs from Manipur, including former Chief Minister Biren Singh and Assembly Speaker Satyabrata Singh, went to Delhi on Saturday to attend the Sunday's meeting convened by the party's Central leadership.

BJP leaders in Imphal earlier indicated that the discussions on Sunday's vital meeting are likely to revolve around the government formation.

Before leaving for Delhi, former Chief Minister Biren Singh had said that the BJP's Central leadership had instructed every BJP MLA from the state to attend the meeting.

BJP has 37 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly.In October, 26 BJP MLAs, including N. Biren Singh, had met B.L. Santhosh and Sambit Patra in Delhi and urged them to "install a popular government" in Manipur, expressing readiness to resume governance as a united team.

Former Chief Minister Biren Singh recently said that all BJP legislators in Manipur remain united in their efforts to form a popular government in the state.

He added that the process of government formation is already underway, while refraining from commenting on individual opinions expressed by legislators.

The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which, after the promulgation of President’s Rule, has been put under suspended animation, has a tenure till 2027.

Over 260 people were killed, more than 1,500 injured, and over 70,000 people displaced after the ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo people on May 3, 2023, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.