GUWAHATI: The game of thrones in Manipur has begun. Caretaker Chief Minister N Biren Singh, senior minister Thongam Biswajit Singh and BJP's state president A Sharda Devi left for Delhi on Tuesday morning on being called by the party's central leadership.
The trio would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda and party’s general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh. "The BJP's central leaders are likely to meet each one of them individually before meeting them together. These meetings will more or less decide the next CM candidate," a BJP source said.
The incumbent Singh and Biswajit stand out among the CM probables.
The BJP central leadership has appointed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju as the party’s observer and co-observer respectively for Manipur. The duo would arrive in Manipur capital Imphal on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the BJP has been virtually reduced to two camps. Singh had invited the MLAs for a high tea at his official residence on Monday. It could not be ascertained how many of them showed up. One camp claimed only 9 turned up while another camp claimed 26 had come.
However, what is confirmed is that some senior leaders, including Biswajit, were not among the attendees. The BJP secured majority by winning 32 of the state’s 60 seats and is in a position to form the government on its own. However, Singh had earlier stated the BJP would align with like-minded parties.