Manipur: BJP Initiates Process To Form Govt As President Rule To End Next Week; Appoints Tarun Chugh As Central Observer

The BJP Parliamentary Board on Monday appointed Tarun Chugh, the national general secretary of the party, as the central observer for the election of the legislature party leader in Manipur.

The development comes after NDA MLAs from Manipur were summoned to New Delhi by the top party leadership, indicating the possible formation of a popular government in the Northeastern state, marred by ethnic strife since May 2023.

The party MLAs were ostensibly summoned to discuss the formation of government in the state, as the current spell of the President's rule will expire next week, on February 12.

The announcement of Tarun Chugh's name was made in a statement by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh. He 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 N Biren Singh government in Manipur had resigned on February 9, 2025, after nearly 21 months of violent ethnic struggle between Kukis and Meiteis, which led to more than 260 fatalities.

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Four days later, on February 13, the President's Rule was imposed in the state. More than 20 BJP MLAs, along with the BJP state president, had attended a meeting with the party's central leadership on Sunday.

Before leaving for the meeting, Manipur BJP president Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi spoke to the media at Imphal airport.

She said, "All NDA legislators have been called. We are hoping and believing that a popular government will be formed."

This is the second such meeting of the MLAs. Speaking about the meeting, Biren Singh said, "Since all MLAs of the NDA partners are being invited for a meeting, I expect a positive outcome. Earlier, there was a meeting of all the BJP MLAs. The President's rule term is due to end on February 12. Let's hope for a positive response."

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When he was asked whether things would have been different had he been in power, Singh said, "Government is a continuing process. I tried my best to change the landscape in Manipur. There have been a lot of changes in both hills and valleys."

(With PTI Inputs)