Shafaqna India: In first signs of the formation of a popular government in strife-hit Manipur, which is currently under the President’s Rule, the BJP on Monday appointed general secretary Tarun Chugh as central observer for the election of the legislature party leader in the state.
An official BJP order on Monday said, “The BJP Parliamentary Board has appointed Tarun Chugh, national general secretary, as central observer for the election of the legislature party leader in Manipur.”
The order was issued by general secretary Arun Singh, who is also in-charge of the BJP headquarters.
The Manipur BJP legislature party meeting will take place at the BJP headquarters here tomorrow with all MLAs in Delhi on the summoning of the high command. Chugh, who hails from Amritsar in Punjab, has been hand-picked to ensure a smooth election, with Biren Singh continuing to exert influence among MLAs.
The development comes nearly a year after N Biren Singh resigned as CM following a Congress threat of a no-confidence vote in the Manipur Assembly against the CM.
Singh, a member of the majority Meitei community in the state, has remained in the eye of the storm ever since ethnic strife broke out in Manipur between Meiteis and tribal Kukis in May 2023.
After his resignation on February 9, 2025, the President’s Rule, under Article 356, was imposed in the state on February 13, 2025. The state has since been under the President’s Rule with fragile peace holding. The BJP has 37 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly and has enough numbers to stake claim.
Among frontrunners for the CM’s position are — former state minister Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, who was Speaker in the Biren Singh government; Basant Kumar Singh, a four-time MLA from Nambol segment in Bishnupur and Education Minister in the Biren Singh government; Radheshyam Singh, a former IPS officer, recipient of the President’s police medal and adviser to former CM Biren Singh; Y Khamchand Singh, former Speaker and minister in the last Biren Singh government; and Biswajit Singh, Environment Minister in the last state government.