Manipur NDA MLAs Fly To Delhi Amid Buzz Over Government Formation

MLAs of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Manipur flew to Delhi today to meet the party leadership, amid buzz over government formation in the state which is under the President's Rule for nearly a year.

BJP northeast incharge Samit Patra will meet the MLAs tomorrow, people familiar with the matter said. The airport in the state capital Imphal saw many MLAs arrive to catch flights to the national capital.

The Manipur assembly is in a suspended animation, or inactive but not dissolved. The President's Rule, first enforced in February 2025, got a six-month extension at the end of the first six months. That extension will end on February 13. This indicates the urgency in political consultations must have been triggered by the fast-approaching deadline.

"Government formation is the agenda. For me, any leader chosen by the Centre is acceptable," BJP MLA Sorokhaibam Rajen told reporters in Imphal airport before taking a flight to Delhi.

BJP MLA Nishikant Singh Sapam cautioned against relying on "narratives" and rumours on social media. The party has its internal mechanism to decide on leadership matters, he said.

Another BJP MLA, Heikham Dingo Singh, said they are expecting "something positive will happen this time."

Changes Likely

Manipur BJP chief A Sharda Devi has also come to Delhi. Her visit ignited a strong buzz that key organisational and leadership decisions on Manipur may be taken at the central level.

Contrasting political signals, however, continue to emerge from different regions of the state. Some civil society organisations in a few districts in Manipur, where the Kuki tribes live, have given statements they will not support government formation in Manipur. A section of the Kuki tribes wants to break away and form a separate administration for their own community, with negotiations being handled by two dozen insurgent groups under two umbrella organisations that signed the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement.

Though public pressure mounts for an end to prolonged political uncertainty and administrative paralysis, the divergence in positions between the Meitei community and some organisations of the Kuki tribes that have been leading the separate administration demand, remains a hurdle.

The BJP leadership in Delhi or the party's Manipur unit has not given any statement on the developments.

'Hope For Positive Outcome'

Former chief minister N Biren Singh today told reporters governance is a continuing process irrespective of who is in power. He said he tried his "best to bring a landscape change in Manipur" during his tenure, which ended in February 2025 after he stepped down just before the imposition of President's Rule.

"Today, all the NDA partners are invited by the Centre. Let us hope for positive outcomes," Singh told reporters at Imphal airport before taking a flight to Delhi.

This meeting is significant, Singh said, because unlike in recent times when only BJP MLAs went to Delhi, this time alliance partner MLAs are also involved.

"It is a meeting of all the members of NDA partners. Last time, only BJP legislators were called and that meeting had good results. This time it is all the NDA partners," the former chief minister said, adding expectations are high as the period of suspended animation of the assembly will end on February 12.

To a question on development projects that began during his tenure, Singh said several major infrastructure works are nearly complete.

"Governance is a continuing process. Whether I am in power or not, I tried my best to bring a landscape change in Manipur. Concrete road construction will be completed soon," he said.

Ground Realities

While the Meiteis and Kukis have stopped fighting, Kuki tribe organisations have not expressed confidence of returning to the valley, citing their lived experiences of the May 2023 violence. Because of this condition, they have also not agreed on allowing Meitei IDPs to return to their homes and villages in Kuki-dominant districts.

Meitei civil society organisations say all internally displaced people should be made to return safely, while talks can go on. But Kuki leaders have demanded a political solution in the form of a separate administration before any other issues, including the return of thousands of people living in relief camps, can be discussed.

Meitei leaders have cited this condition to allege that Kuki leaders are engineering an ethnocentric homeland demand; the Meiteis' argument is that talks can go on while at the same time people living in difficult conditions in the camps can also return home since no territory is ethnic exclusive.

There's a realisation cutting across community lines in Manipur that with the benefit of heightened awareness and education about coexistence and the multi-ethnic character of the state, it wouldn't take long for peace to return only if a small section with vested interests are stopped from sabotaging the recovery.

Over 260 people were killed and 50,000 were internally displaced in the Manipur violence.