The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has maintained a majority in Manipur and the victory is made sweeter by the fact that the party has won alone. The man widely credited with giving the BJP this feat is N Biren Singh, who will return as the chief minister of the northeastern state.
BJP has won 32 seats out of 60 members Manipur Legislative Assembly And this time it got 37.83 per cent votes against 21 seats and 36.3% votes in 2017, when it allied with National People’s Party (NPP), Naga People’s Front (NPF), the lone Trinamool Congress MLA and an independent member.
Speaking to News18.com during the promotion, Biren Singh had said that the alliance was not the right call and was ready to tackle the challenge of victory alone. The first step in this direction was taken early in his last term when the CM moved to stabilize the government in the face of uncertain allies. Biren Singh held busy meetings and ensured that the government was in a stable position.
He was successful in bringing Congress leaders along in 2017, further weakening the old party’s base. After losing its main players to the BJP, the Congress took the lead in the 2022 elections, with no state unit chief even two months ago. More than 10 MLAs, including Biren Singh’s son-in-law and former Chief Minister Ibobi Singh’s nephew Henry Okhram Singh, had joined the BJP.
With the government secured, Biren Singh set out to consolidate his position in the party amid factionalism. Originally belonging to the Congress camp, Biren Singh had to contend with several other contenders for the CM’s seat. Slowly and behind the scenes, Biren oversaw the competition and took over the disgruntled rebels after the list of candidates was released.
Significantly, the CM also struck a balance between the valley and the hills in Manipur. There are 40 assembly seats in the valley areas, while 20 in the hills. There has been a one-sided approach in favor of the Valley in the last elections, but this time the BJP’s ‘Go to the Hills’ and ‘Talk to the CM’ programs have worked wonders. Get the support of voters in the hills.
The state enjoyed a relatively peaceful five years under Biren Singh, but peace was broken in November last year by the Churachandpur ambush in which five soldiers, including the commanding officer of the 46 Assam Rifles, his wife and son, were killed in an attack on his convoy . The chief minister also demanded the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state, but the party’s manifesto shrewdly kept quiet on it.
It will be interesting to see how Biren Singh now works in a free majority without the compulsion of allies.
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