After nearly three days of uncertainty, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not yet chosen a new chief minister for Manipur. N Biren Singh resigned on Sunday after facing a tough 21 months of ethnic violence that resulted in over 250 deaths and thousands of displaced residents. His resignation followed a lengthy meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda.
BJP leader Sambit Patra has been holding meetings with party legislators in Manipur to find a new leader. The BJP’s central leadership is expected to meet the Manipur party MLAs in Delhi on February 12 to finalize a successor.
Five key candidates are being discussed for the position of Manipur’s new chief minister:
– Yumnam Khemchand Singh: Currently a Cabinet minister for municipal administration, Khemchand has been an MLA since 2017 and also served as the Speaker of the Manipur assembly from 2017 to 2022.
– Thongam Biswajit Singh: A member of the assembly since 2012, he is now the state minister for environment and forest. Biswajit originally started with the Trinamool Congress before joining the BJP.
– Thokchom Satyabrata Singh: Elected in both 2017 and 2022, he is the current Speaker of the assembly and has held various cabinet positions, including consumer affairs and labour.
– Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh: A four-time MLA from Nambol, Basanta is the current education minister and joined the BJP after winning the 2022 elections.
– Govindas Konthoujam: A seven-time MLA, he is currently a minister for PWD, youth affairs, and sports. He switched to BJP after previously serving with the Congress.
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