Imphal, Feb 4 (IANS) Senior BJP leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh is likely to take oath as the new Chief Minister of Manipur at the Lok Bhavan on Wednesday evening, a top official said.
A senior Manipur government official said that a few ministers, including one or two Deputy Chief Ministers, are also likely to be sworn in along with the new Chief Minister.
“The timing of the swearing-in ceremony and the names of the ministers will be finalised at any moment. Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla will administer the oath at the Lok Bhavan,” the official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, Yumnam Khemchand Singh, accompanied by the newly appointed Central Observer Tarun Chugh, BJP’s Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra and a few MLAs, met the Governor at the Lok Bhavan and staked a claim to form the BJP-led government.
The Governor invited Singh to form the government, the official added.
Party leaders and a large number of MLAs greeted Yumnam Khemchand Singh after he arrived at Imphal airport on Wednesday morning from New Delhi. There are unofficial reports that the new BJP government may have one or two Deputy Chief Ministers and that two MLAs from the Kuki-Zo community are likely to be included in the ministry headed by Singh.
Ending months of uncertainty and prolonged parleys over government formation in Manipur, the BJP on Tuesday announced that former Assembly Speaker and former cabinet minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh will be the state’s next Chief Minister.
BJP leaders said that Khemchand Singh was elected as the Legislature Party Leader at a meeting held in the national capital and attended by BJP MLAs from Manipur, along with the Central Observer Tarun Chugh and Patra, among other senior leaders.
In the meeting at the BJP party headquarters in Delhi, Khemchand Singh’s name was proposed as the Legislature Party leader by former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.
President’s Rule has been in force in Manipur since February 13 last year following the resignation of then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh amid prolonged ethnic violence.
The top official said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is likely to issue a notification on Wednesday to withdraw the President’s Rule.
The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which has a tenure until 2027, has been kept under suspended animation.
Following the imposition of President’s Rule, senior BJP central leaders, including national General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh and the party’s Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra, held a series of meetings with Manipur MLAs in both New Delhi and Imphal.
The BJP has 37 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, while its NDA allies — the National People’s Party (NPP) and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) — have six and five MLAs respectively. Three Independent MLAs are also supporting the BJP-led NDA. The NPP, headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, and the NPF are supporting the BJP in Manipur as constituents of the NDA.
–IANS
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