Asks to work for bridging the communication gap between communities to form a popular govt in Manipur
Guwahati: The BJP central leadership, which had a meeting with party MLAs from Manipur in New Delhi on Sunday has asked the state leadership to thrash out differences and bridge the communication gap between the communities of the state.
In its renewed efforts to explore the possibility of formation of a popular government in the state, the central leadership of the party first met Meitei and Kuki MLAs separately and thereafter had a joint meeting. Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 2025.
The nearly two-hour-long meeting at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi was attended by the party’s national general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh and Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra.
Amid the growing demand of revoking the President’s rule in the state, sources said that the focus of central party leadership behind calling the meeting of its MLAs was also to gauge the mood of MLAs on leadership issues.
In a brief statement, the party said, “The BJP Manipur Legislature Party meeting was held today at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, in the presence of BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra. The discussion centred on the peace and progress of Manipur.”
The party sources present in the meeting, however, admitted that the discussions went beyond the formal messaging, with a focus on addressing internal differences within the state unit and ensuring direct engagement between the party’s Meitei and Kuki MLAs, a prerequisite for any credible move towards government formation.
Most of BJP leaders were tight-lipped about what transpired in two separate meetings in which sources said Kuki MLAs are said to have expressed willingness to work for restoring the harmony and supporting the confidence building measures between the communities.
It is significant that it was for the first time since the ethnic unrest broke out that both Meitei and Kuki MLAs of the party were present under one roof.
With the Assembly’s tenure running till March 2027, the BJP legislators have been expressing fear that delaying the formation of a popular government could erode their credibility ahead of the next elections.
In the 60-member Manipur legislative assembly, the BJP has 32 seats, the NPP seven, JD(U) six, Naga People’s Front (NPF) five, Kuki People’s Alliance (KPA) two, and the Congress five, while three are independent MLAs.
If insiders are to be believed the biggest challenge for the BJP would be to create a consensus over the issue of leadership with a group of leaders close to former Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh openly challenging the authority of N Biren Singh recently, while 10 Kuki MLAs, several of them from the BJP, staying away from government.
