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Having failed to agree on a successor for Biren Singh even three days after he resigned as the chief minister of Manipur, leaders from the BJP were making renewed efforts to arrive at a consensus on Wednesday even as the spectre of President's Rule loomed large over the violence-hit state.
Article 174(1) of the Constitution says that state Assemblies have to be convened no later than six months after their last sitting. In the case of Manipur, the last sitting was on August 12, 2024, and the deadline for convening the Assembly was Wednesday. Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla had called off the Budget session, scheduled to begin on Monday, after chief minister Singh resigned on Sunday.
The BJP's northeast in-charge, Sambit Patra, has been holding discussions in Imphal with MLAs from the party, but sources said despite initial signs of a breakthrough on Tuesday, no decision has been arrived at yet. Mr Patra and some other BJP leaders met Mr Bhalla on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, and party sources indicated that they had informed the governor that they were yet to zero in on Mr Singh's replacement.
All eyes are now on Governor Bhalla, who will have to decide whether to place the Assembly in suspended animation and order President's Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution. Sources said both the governor's office and the Centre are taking legal options to avoid a constitutional crisis in Manipur and a call on the next chief minister could be taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to India from the United States.
While the Congress has taken aim at the BJP, the ruling party has maintained that there is no constitutional crisis and the next chief minister would be decided soon.
"It is really unfortunate for the BJP leaders to be not able to select their own chief minister and convene the Assembly session. What is the purpose of Patra's visit to the state? Has he come to break the state apart... His visit is to ensure that there is no Assembly session and the issues of the state remain sidelined. So far, he has not made any comment either," Congress MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar, a former speaker of the Manipur Assembly, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
BJP MLA Karam Shyam, however, said the issues would be resolved by the Centre with the help of the MLAs.
"I don't know about President's Rule. I think the problem (leadership crisis) will be resolved by the Centre with the help of the legislators. I think there is no constitutional crisis in Manipur," he told PTI.
On the deadline for the Assembly session being missed, Mr Shyam said, "Let's see what happens."
Biren Singh had resigned as the chief minister on Sunday, a day before his government was likely to face a no-confidence motion and floor test.
The step came nearly two years after the ethnic violence in Manipur began on May 2023 and amid relentless calls from the Opposition for his resignation. A petition had also been filed in the Supreme Court, based on leaked audio tapes, alleging that Mr Singh had instigated the violence.