Nearly 26 BJP MLAs from Manipur, including former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, arrived in Delhi starting October 4 to push for the restoration of the state government. However, they have not been able to secure a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah or BJP national president J.P. Nadda.
So far, the only central leader the delegation has met is BJP Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra. Biren Singh traveled with three MLAs last Saturday, while other legislators, including Manipur Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, arrived on Sunday. They met Patra at Manipur Bhawan for an hour on Wednesday evening. Three senior BJP MLAs, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the meeting.
During this meeting, the MLAs urged Patra to persuade the high command to speed up the process of forming the Manipur government, which has been under President’s Rule since February 13 this year. The President’s Rule has been extended twice and is set to continue until February 2026.
“We told him (Patra) that the BJP MLAs are united, and there is no factionalism. Any delay now in forming the government could hurt the party’s interests. The people are getting frustrated. We also asked him to arrange our meeting with Amit Shah ji,” one MLA stated. Patra reportedly replied that there should be “consensus” among all MLAs from the Meitei, Kuki, and Naga communities.
The MLAs were pessimistic about meeting Shah or Nadda soon, as the central leadership is focused on the upcoming Bihar elections. Their visit follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to Manipur last month, which was his first since the ethnic conflict erupted in May 2023 between the mostly Hindu Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zo communities.
Another MLA who met Patra argued that the law and order situation in Manipur has improved, making it a good time to install a popular government. While violence has largely decreased, the situation remains unstable. For example, two soldiers were killed and four others were injured in an ambush on an Assam Rifles vehicle in Bishnupur district less than two weeks after the PM’s visit.
Earlier, last Sunday, Manipur BJP MLA Thounaojam Shyamkumar threatened to resign if the MLAs were not given a chance to meet with the central leadership.
