Manipur: BJP appoints observer for election of legislative party leader

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday appointed an observer for the election of its legislative party leader in Manipur. The announcement is being viewed as an indication of an imminent attempt to form a new government in the state.

The press releases by the Hindutva party, announcing the appointment of its National General Secretary Tarun Chugh as the central observer, did not provide more details about government formation.

Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 2025, when BJP leader N Biren Singh resigned as the chief minister.

The six-month extension to the President’s Rule, approved by Parliament in August, is to end this month.

The announcement came on the day that Manipur MLAs of the BJP and its allies were in Delhi for a meeting, ostensibly about the government formation in the state, PTI reported.

MLAs from the Meitei and the Kuki communities had been called, The Hindu quoted unidentified legislators as saying.

At least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced since ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities in May 2023. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024 and 2025.

Singh had stepped down amid allegations from Kuki-Zomi-Hmar groups that his response to the violence had been partisan and that he had stoked majoritarianism.

The tenure of the Assembly ends in March 2027.

In December, BJP MLAs from Manipur were called to Delhi by the party for a meeting, which had led to speculation about government formation in the state.

The Meitei MLAs have been demanding the end of President’s Rule and formation of a new government.

However, Kuki-Zo groups have maintained that the creation of a separate administrative arrangement in the form of a Union Territory, in the areas of the state dominated by the community, is the way forward to end the conflict.

While the Meiteis dominate the valley region, the Kukis are in the majority in the state’s hill districts.

On January 6, the Kuki-Zo Council said that members of the community “cannot and shall not” participate in the formation of a new state government, reiterating the demand for a Union Territory.

On January 13, Kuki militant groups and MLAs from the community unanimously resolved to participate in the formation of a new government only after getting a political commitment for a Union Territory.