Biren Singh, the leader of Bharatiya Janata Party has been sworn in as the Chief Minister of Manipur on Wednesday. Nongthombam Biren Singh took the oath at the Raj Bhawan in Imphal. The swearing in of the CM along with eight other ministers was attended by the former CM and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh. This is the first time BJP has formed the government in Manipur, fuelled by post poll allies NPF, NPP, LJP and also independents.
An NPP MLA from Uripok, Y. Joykumar Singh took oath as the Deputy CM. He previously worked as the DGP of Manipur and was also considered Ibobi’s right hand. Biswajit of BJP, L. Jayantakumar of NPP, Karan Shyam of the LJP, L. Haokip of the NPP, N. Koyisi of NPP, Losie Dikho of NPF and Th Shyamkumar who won on Congress ticket from Andro took oath in the swearing in ceremony. Shyamkumar has post polls changed his party BJP.
The Governor Najma Heptullah had invited the BJP-led coalition to form the government under Biren Singh. This was done after showing the required support from regional parties and Independents. Both BJP and Congress claimed support after the elections so as to form the government. Congress won 28 seats as the single largest party in the assembly elections. But BJP, which had won 21 seats claimed support of NPF, NPP, LJP and independents which moved it to more than 50% of the seats and helped them form the government.
Governor Heptullah on Tuesday about Congress asking to form the government had said, “I don’t know what allegations the Congress is making. In my 37 years in Parliament and 17 in the chair, even when I was a part of the Congress, I have had to work with both Congress and non-Congress governments. Nobody has ever alleged that I was biased or unfair. Even the Congress party has never complained. They know that I am a straight forward person and that I have always gone by the book.”
