Himanta Biswa Sarma of the BJP and Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, are at Imphal (File)
Guwahati:
After winning the only Rajya Sabha seat proposed in Manipur in Friday’s elections, the BJP is now trying to ensure that it can keep its government in the state, where the Opposition Congress forms a new alliance – the SPF (Secular Progressive Front). .
The BJP unleashed Himanta Biswa Sarma – its sniper in the northeast. Mr. Sarma reached the capital of the Imphal State on Sunday evening and he was not alone – the Chief Minister of Meghalaya and the head of the NPP Conrad Sangma, whose Manipur unit precipitated this crisis for the BJP, was with him.
They will try to cement the gaps between state units of the NPP (National People’s Party) and the BJP, which led to four NPP MPs withdrawing government support from Chief Minister Biren Singh last week, told GalacticGaming sources within both parties.
The combined visit of MM. Sangma and Sarma – the architects of the BJP’s efforts to gather enough figures to form the government in 2017 – is at the request of the Minister of the Interior, Amit Shah.
However, party sources also said that Mr. Sangma’s concern was not only with the BJP but with the positioning of his own party. During his Imphal visit, he hopes to set the path for his outfit in Manipur.
An alliance with Congress – its main rival in Meghalaya – will be difficult to explain to its allies, sources added.
Mr. Sarma and Mr. Sangma are said to have had several rounds of meetings with members of parliament and party leaders, both together and separately. However, BNP sources said the meetings were inconclusive.
It seems that Conrad Sangma is trying to persuade his deputies to reconsider their decision to withdraw their support and join the SPF led by the Congress, which calls for an extraordinary session of the Assembly to present a motion of censure against the government.
Also on Sunday, the Manipur unit at the nuclear power plant released a statement explaining its actions. “The BJP runs the government in an autocratic way and has refused to form a steering committee,” he said, while alleging that there was no common minimum agenda, no name for the alliance or consultation with coalition partners to decide on Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha candidates and no allocation of ministerial portfolios.
Party sources added that the NPP has informed BJP leaders, including Himanta Biswa Sarma, that the change of state leadership is a non-negotiable request.
Meanwhile, Congress also welcomed senior leaders – MP Gaurav Gogoi and Ajay Maken. The party is, at the moment, in “standby and surveillance” mode to see what the NPP is doing, said a senior congressional official from Manipur. The party adopted a two-pronged strategy.
On the one hand, it assesses the legal options for challenging the President’s decision not to allow four congressional deputies to vote in Rajya Sabha’s polls.
He also keeps communication channels open with some senior BNP leaders, said a senior party official on condition of anonymity.
