GUWAHATI: Manipur was buzzing Tuesday about the possibility of Raj Bhavan breaking the political status quo after an NDA delegation led by BJP’s Northeast minder Sambit Patra trooped to governor AK Bhalla with what many hoped was a breakthrough in the search for a successor to caretaker CM N Biren Singh.
BJP’s state president A Sharda Devi, minister Th Basanta Kumar Singh, ally NPF’s Manipur chief Awangbou Newmai and JD(U) MLA MA Nasir were part of the delegation to the governor’s residence after closed-door talks throughout the day.
Congress said the state was hurtling towards a constitutional crisis as the deadline for a constitutionally mandated assembly session at least once every six months had been breached. The party indicated possible legal intervention if the impasse continues.
The assembly’s budget session was scheduled from Monday, but Biren’s resignation the previous day prompted governor Bhalla to declare his order convening the House “null and void”. State Congress president Keisham Meghachandra said governor Bhalla’s move was “illegal and unconstitutional”. The last assembly session ended on Aug 12 last year.
Sources said if BJP failed to pick a unanimous candidate for the chief ministership, the feasible alternatives were President’s rule and early elections or keeping the assembly in suspended animation till a new CM was chosen. Since Biren’s exit, a few names have cropped up as his possible replacement, including assembly speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh and ministers Yumnam Khemchand Singh and T Biswajit.