Manipur’s NDA MLAs head to Delhi ahead of one year of President’s Rule, hinting at talks on elected government
With the one-year mark approaching, the MLAs called to Delhi said that they believe that a discussion on the potential formation of a popular government in the state is on the cards.
President’s Rule had been imposed in Manipur on February 13 2024 and has been in place there ever since.
With less than two weeks until a year of President’s Rule in Manipur, NDA MLAs from the state made their way to Delhi Sunday, saying that they have been called for a meeting there with central leaders the next day.
President’s Rule had been imposed in Manipur on February 13 2024 and has been in place there ever since. With the one-year mark approaching, the MLAs called to Delhi said that they believe that a discussion on the potential formation of a popular government in the state is on the cards. However, the MLAs – from the BJP and NDA allies Naga People’s Front, National People’s Party, Janata Dal (United) and Independents – say that they have simply been told to be in Delhi by 2 pm Monday.
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Most NDA MLAs from the valley and the Naga community, including former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, flew to Delhi from Imphal Sunday. BJP state president A. Sharda Devi also left on Sunday.
“We have not been informed who will be there from the Centre’s side, or what the agenda is,” said one of the MLAs, who arrived in Delhi on Sunday.
A Kuki-Zo MLA said that BJP MLAs from the community are also likely to participate in such a meeting. On January 13, Kuki-Zo insurgent groups under a Suspension of Operations agreement and MLAs from the community had declared a set of “prerequisites” for participation by the MLAs in a new popular government in the state, primarily a written “political commitment” by the state and central governments on a separate Union Territory for Kuki-Zo-majority areas of the state.
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The BJP’s top brass had held a crucial meeting with party MLAs from Manipur on December 14, bringing both Kuki and Meitei legislators under one roof to build engagement between representatives from both communities — a prerequisite, leaders believe, for any credible move towards government formation. There have been months of sustained pressure from Manipur’s Meitei and Naga NDA legislators to replace President’s Rule with an elected government, while there has been uncertainty over whether the Kuki-Zo MLAs would join a new popular state government.
President’s Rule had been imposed in Manipur on February 13 2024 and has been in place there ever since. 
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