N Biren Singh likely to remain CM: BJP insiders

Manipur Congress chief Loken Singh quits post

NEW DELHI: The BJP is all set to retain N Biren Singh as the Chief Minister of Manipur, sources in the party said.

A BJP insider said that after detailed discussion, the party central leadership has approved the name of Singh for the post of Chief Minister of Manipur. Singh served as the Chief Minister of Manipur from 2017 to 2022. The BJP got the majority on its own for the first time in Manipur. Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

Late on Monday evening, the top BJP leadership met at Prime Minister Modi's residence to discuss the formation of the party's Governments in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

Loken Singh quits: Meanwhile, a day after Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked party chiefs in five States where Assembly elections were held recently to quit, Manipur State unit chief N Loken Singh on Wednesday put in his papers, taking moral responsibility for the party's defeat in the polls in the Northeastern State.

After sending his resignation letter, Singh tweeted: "I take responsibility of the defeat of Congress in the Assembly Election 2022 in Manipur. I do hereby resign from the Presidentship of MPCC."

Before submitting his resignation, Singh, who had himself lost the Nambol Assembly seat to BJP's Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh by a margin of 3,060 votes, held a marathon meeting with the party leaders and workers in Imphal.

A party leader said that Singh was keen to resign since Gandhi's directives on Tuesday but the local party leaders and his followers insisted that he keep the post.

The Congress, which won only five seats in the 60-member Assembly this time, saw many of its sitting MLAs losing. However, veteran leader and former three-time Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and his son Surjakumar Okram won from Thoubal and Khangabo constituencies, respectively.

The Congress, which governed the State for 15 consecutive years (2002-2017) and emerged as the single-largest party by securing 28 seats in 2017 poll, this time fought as the Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA) with the four Left parties and Janata Dal-Secular. (IANS)

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