Manipur: Govt at risk, rift in party, but Shah’s ‘soft spot’ for Biren continues
Many in Manipur are taken aback by Shah’s attempts to protect the Biren government despite its failure to resolve the ethnic strife continuing since May 2023
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has plunged into a firefighting exercise to protect the beleaguered Biren Singh government in Manipur, much to the surprise of many even within the state BJP.
In the past 10 days, Shah reportedly held a series of one-to-one meetings with dissident BJP MLAs starting with the Manipur assembly speaker Th Satyabrata in the last week of January.
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The latest to rush to New Delhi to have a parley with Shah is the state’s Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Yumnam Khemchand.
He has already reached New Delhi after being summoned by the senior BJP leader, according to informed sources.
Congress’s plan for no-confidence motion
Shah’s proactiveness to broker peace among warring factions of the BJP legislature party in Manipur comes amidst Congress’s plan to move a no-confidence motion against the state government in the ensuing assembly session, beginning February 10.
Growing dissidence within the BJP has emboldened the Congress to make the move despite having just five MLAs in the 60-member house.
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In October last year, as The Federal reported, 19 treasury bench MLAs led by Satyabrata had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace Biren Singh to restore peace in the state. The dissident group, however, neither confirmed nor denied the development.
The rift in the BJP became further evident when several of its MLAs skipped a crucial meeting convened by Biren Singh in November last year.
Shah’s soft corner for Biren
Meanwhile, the buzz about the group writing directly to the prime minister in the matter concerning the home ministry led to tongue-wagging in Manipur about Shah’s soft corner for Biren even in the face of the party losing popularity in the trouble-torn state.
The defeat of the BJP in both the parliamentary seats in Manipur last year was an indicator of the people’s mood.
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The debacle intensified the clamour within the BJP for replacement of Biren. But the BJP central leadership, reportedly at the behest of Shah, turned a deaf ear to the demand.
BJP rebels’ plot
Failing to convince the party high-command, the rebels reportedly have been plotting to script the fall of Biren on the floor of the House. Anticipating such a possibility, the state government had been reportedly deferring convening the assembly session until it was left with no choice.
There would have been a constitutional crisis in the state if the session was not held by mid-February. As per the constitutional provision, an assembly cannot defer a sitting for more than six months. The last assembly session in Manipur was held for nine days from July 31 to August 12.
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Ahead of the ensuing session, the Congress is gearing up to gather the requisite numbers to move the motion against the government. The five-member Congress legislature party needs the support of another five MLAs to table the no-confidence motion.
Role of NPP or JD(U)
The Congress is reportedly in touch with six MLAs of the National People's Party (NPP) which has already withdrawn support from the BJP government. The NPP has now decided to sit on the opposition bench in the forthcoming session.
“Being in the ruling BJP, the dissident group will not be able to move the no-confidence motion. So, we are in touch with the NPP or the JD(U),” said a senior Congress leader over phone from Imphal.
He said there would be cross-voting from the treasury bench if the motion is moved.
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Shah is trying to avert any such embarrassing development for the party by persuading the dissident groups to make amends with Biren. The senior BJP leader reportedly told the dissident MLAs, during their meeting with him, to resolve the differences and let the assembly session proceed smoothly.
Secret understanding?
Many in Manipur are taken aback by Shah’s attempts to protect the Biren Singh government despite its failure to resolve the ethnic strife continuing since May 2023. This has alienated even a large section of the Meitei community from the BJP, party leaders admit in private.
“It is surprising why Amit Shah is still backing the chief minister. This has led to all kinds of speculation and rumours, including about some secret understanding between the two,” said Onil Kshetrimayum, a human rights activist and political commentator of the state.
The dissident group will go into a huddle in Imphal shortly to decide their final strategy, BJP sources said. They are not yet ready to smoke the peace pipe, they added.
Also Read: 'Has time to go all over the world, but no time for Manipur': Congress attacks PM Modi
Biren intimidating MLAs
In the meantime, there are allegations that Biren Singh is intimidating MLAs against moving the no-confidence motion.
A Congress delegation led by former chief minister Ibobi Singh called on Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Monday (February 3) to apprise him of the threat. The Congress urged the governor to advise the chief minister to refrain from intimidating MLAs as moving a no-confidence motion is the democratic right of the MLAs.
BJP has 37 MLAs in the House.
