GUWAHATI: Manipur’s caretaker Chief Minister N Biren Singh as well as senior leader Thongam Biswajit dismissed as “speculation” media reports that the former will continue as the CM.
After their arrival from New Delhi, both BJP stalwarts told journalists at the Imphal airport that no decision had been made on the issue.
In fact, Singh appealed to the media to not publish or broadcast reports based on speculation stating they could create misunderstanding among the stakeholders.
“We had a review meeting in Delhi where we discussed various issues pertaining to Assembly elections,” Singh, who was accompanied by state BJP chief A Sharda Devi, said.
Earlier, Thongam Biswajit had dismissed as “mere speculation” media reports that Biren Singh will continue in the post.
Talking to journalists at the Imphal airport after his arrival from New Delhi, he said some reports also suggested that the BJP had not yet made any decision on the matter.
He said neither he nor Singh nor BJP state chief A Sharda Devi had any discussions with the party’s central leadership on the issue. He said the discussions revolved around the Assembly elections and the next Parliamentary elections.
“The BJP leadership will decide who will be the CM. BJP is a democratic party and that’s the reason why it appointed central observers for all four states,” Biswajit said.
“I think they will have a talk with all our legislators before a decision is made,” he added.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju have been appointed as the BJP’s observer and co-observer respectively for Manipur. Their visit to Imphal has been delayed.
Stating that he is one of the oldest members in the BJP family of Manipur, Biswajit denied the state BJP had been reduced to factions on the leadership issue.
“We don’t have any factions among ourselves and that is for sure. People are talking about numbers. I don’t know,” he said.
The BJP leader also said that along with the colourful festival of Holi, a colourful day would be coming to Manipur. Holi is locally called Yaoshang which is celebrated for five days.
Back in 2015, the BJP hardly had any base in Manipur but Biswajit, who was then a Trinamool Congress MLA, could foresee its rise. He defected to the party but was disqualified. Subsequently, he had won a by-election on the BJP ticket.
Recently, BJP biggie and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had spoken about that risk which Biswajit took in the then Congress-dominated state.
But in the 2017 elections, the BJP had a sterling performance, winning 21 of the state’s 60 seats. Eventually, it formed a coalition government. When the party had gone to polls, Biswajit was its lone MLA. He had played a key role in bringing several Congress MLAs to the BJP fold ahead of the elections.
“He came from the TMC and contributed immensely to the BJP’s massive growth in Manipur. We all know this and we must acknowledge it,” the Assam CM had said.
Biswajit was a strong contender for the CM post in 2017 but the BJP placated him by giving him six key portfolios.