'Will Work With Newly Elected Leaders For Development': Manipur Chief Minister

The BJP government will continue to work with Manipur's newly elected representatives in the Lok Sabha for growth and development of all sections in the state, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said today, and congratulated the two Congress candidates who won both the seats in the state hit by ethnic violence since May 2023.

The Congress's Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, a professor from Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), won by over 3.7 lakh votes in the Inner Manipur constituency. In the Outer Manipur reserved seat, the party's candidate Alfred Kanngam Arthur won by over 3.8 lakh votes to his nearest rival from the Naga People's Front (NPF), an ally of the BJP.

"The public has given its mandate, and what truly matters is that we all aspire for the welfare of all the indigenous people of the state. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the BJP government will continue to work with the elected representatives towards the growth and development of all sections in the state," Mr Singh, who is from the BJP, said in a post on X.

The Chief Minister belongs to the valley-dominant Meitei community. The hill-dominant Kuki-Zo tribes have accused him of bias towards his own community in dealing with the ethnic violence.

Mr Singh has refuted the allegations at every turn, often citing cases that he claimed did not target any particular community.

"We remain firm in our commitment to work towards serving the masses and building a better Manipur for the future generations," Mr Singh said in the post on X.

The BJP's dismal performance in Manipur in the Lok Sabha election mirrored the party at the national level, which could not cross the halfway mark on its own, despite the "400-paar" confidence. It will form government with its partners of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as the combined strength has comfortably crossed the majority mark.

Manipur BJP sources said the entry of Mr Akoijam in the political arena scattered Meitei votes and led to divisions among them. The BJP sees Mr Akoijam as an 'outsider', someone who came from Delhi at the last moment, and allegedly weakened the Meiteis' cohesion amid the ethnic tensions.

The Kuki tribes appeared to have voted in large numbers for the Congress in the Outer Manipur seat as the NPF is a BJP ally.

Since the huge wins, the two Congress candidates - Mr Akoijam is a Meitei, and Mr Arthur a Naga - have yet to say how they intend to address the Manipur ethnic crisis. During the campaign, both had spoken about bringing peace and development as their first order of business.