Manipur Guv invites BJP's Biren Singh to form govt; swearing in today

Imphal: Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah on Tuesday invited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form government in the state. BJP’s Nongthombam Biren Singh will take oath as the Chief Minister on Wednesday.

BJP chief Amit Shah and Union Minister Jitendra Singh will attend the swearing in ceremony to be held in Imphal on Wednesday, ANI reported.

Singh was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party on Monday. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Singh said the BJP's only motto is "United Manipur".

"Legally we have the right. We have to form the government in Manipur. My message to Manipur is please cooperate with the coming BJP government. We will serve the people of Manipur without making any difference, all will be treated equally. Basically our motto is united Manipur," Singh told ANI.

Lauding the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said the 'Modi magic' is driving the people of Manipur 'crazy'.

"More responsibility will be there because the magic of Modi ji is making the people crazy. What he said he did. He thought for the poor of the poorest," said Singh.

"Right now, the state is bankrupt. So, our plan is to seek everything from the Centre because we do not have our own resources," he added.

The BJP, which won 21 seats in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, had managed to secure support of the the Naga People's Front (NPF), the National People's Party (NPP), the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and other newly elected MLAs.

Ibobi Singh who has been serving as chief minister for 15 years since 2002, was reluctant to resign from the post on Sunday. However, he later submitted his resignation to the Governor and was again elected the leader of the Congress Legislature Party. Late on Monday night, he had staked claim to form the government.

Ibobi Singh has argued that Congress being the single largest party with 28 seats should be given the first opportunity to form the government. "I am ready for a floor test and I have the numbers with me," he said.

In his meeting with Heptullah last night, he claimed to have the support of four National People's Party MLAs. "On seeing names of four NPP MLAs on an ordinary piece of paper, Heptullah asked Ibobi Singh to bring the NPP president and the MLAs," a Raj Bhavan source said.

NPP general secretary Vivek Raj, however, said that the party and all its MLAs were with BJP.

BJP on Monday claimed that it enjoyed the support of 32 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly, one more than the required number of 31.

BJP claimed to have support of Shyamkumar, one of the 28 Congress MLAs, the lone MLA of both LJP and All India Trinamool Congress, besides four MLAs each of NPP and NPF.

Outgoing Deputy CM, Gaikhangam, however, described as "completely baseless" reports that Congress legislators including Shyamkumar, were in touch with the BJP.

State Congress general secretary Vidyapati Gautam accused the BJP of indulging in "horse trading". N Biren Singh, however, denied the charges.