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N Biren Singh took oath as the chief minister of Manipur on Wednesday at the Raj Bhawan in Imphal. Top BJP leaders were not present in the ceremony.
Amit Shah who was supposed to hold a road show in Imphal had to return to Delhi because of a technical problem in his flight.
Former chief minister, Ibobi SIngh was present in the ceremony.
The first BJP-led government in Manipur will be sworn-in on Wednesday when N Biren Singh is administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Najma Heptulla.
Amit Shah is going to hold a road show in Imphal later in the day.
Heptulla on Tuesday invited Singh, who was unanimously elected the leader of the 21-member BJP legislature party yesterday, to form the government.
The invitation to Singh came on a day when four members of the Naga People's Front, an NDA ally, met the Governor and declared their support to BJP for government formation.
"Four NPF MLAs met the Governor and extended their support to the BJP for government formation," a Raj Bhavan source told PTI.
After Goa, Manipur would be the second state among the five where elections were held recently where the BJP would form a government despite not being the single largest party by cobbling together a post-poll alliance.
Governor Najma Heptulla, on Tuesday evening, invited the BJP to form government in Manipur. Addressing a media briefing, Heptulla confirmed that the BJP has been invited and that the swearing in ceremony will take place at 1 pm on Wednesday.
Four Naga People's Front (NPF) MLAs met Heptulla earlier in the day and extended their support to the BJP for formation of the new government in the state.
The NPF is a constituent of the NDA. Earlier, four National People's Party (NPP) legislators had extended their support to the BJP too.
The BJP chief minister, along with a council of ministers, will take his oath on Wednesay. The ceremony will take place in Imphal and would be attended by Amit Shah and Union minister Jitendra Singh, according to ANI’s sources.
Conrad Sangma, leader of the National People’s Party, on Monday said that “all the letters of support have been given to the Governor, who will now take a call to invite us to form the government.”
Alleging that the BJP is indulging in horse-trading in Manipur, Congress MP Ripun Bora on Tuesday asserted that the party is “murdering democracy all over the country.”
“We got information that the BJP hijacked 5-6 Cong MLAs and took them to Guwahati, this is horse-trading,” Bora, said.
N Biren Singh was unanimously elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party in Manipur, paving the way for his becoming the next Chief Minister. Union Minister Piyush Goel made the announcement at a press conference on Monday.
Singh will meet Governor Najma Heptulla and stake claim to form the next government in the state, said Goel, who was present at the meeting, adding “we have the support of smaller parties”.
A former minister in the Ibobi Singh-led Congress government, Biren thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership for giving him an opportunity to serve Manipur.
Okram Ibobi Singh resigned from his position as the Chief Minister of Manipur late on Monday. Singh had earlier refused to step down when asked by Governor Najma Heptulla, saying the numbers were on his side. However, later in the day, Ibobi Singh announced that he would step down in 24 hours.
Earlier, Heptulla had asked the leader to submit his resignation immediately, so that the process of formation of the next government can be started.
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The BJP on Monday deftly outmanoeuvred the Congress to clinch power in the state and was set to form its first government in the northeastern state
In a day of fast-paced developments, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost no time to cobble up the numbers required to form government.
The BJP, which was at second spot in the state, winning 21 seats to the Congress party's 28, did not waste time in getting four MLAs each of the National People's Party and the Naga People's Front (NPF), which is also one of NDA's alliance partners at the Centre, to its side, plus three other lawmakers. The BJP now has the support of 32 members in the 60-seat assembly.
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