N Biren Singh taking oath as CM of Manipur | Image: Twitter
Following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in Manipur in the recently held state assembly elections, N Biren Singh took oath as the Chief Minister in Imphal on Monday.
N Biren Singh will return to the position for the second term having previously served as the chief minister from 2017.
Singh was unanimously elected as leader of the legislature party of the BJP in a meeting held on Sunday. Union Ministers Niramala Sitharaman and Kiren Rijiju were present as central observers, reported ANI.
Earlier, Singh had met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, and defence minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi.
Notably, BJP retained power in Manipur having secured 32 seats in the 60-member house in the recently concluded assembly polls, while Congress won five seats and NPP won seven. The Naga People’s Front won five seats and the Kuki People’s Alliance won two. Two independent candidates managed to secure three seats.
The BJP won an absolute majority in the state for the first time and the party top brass had been discussing the formation of government in Manipur.
It had previously formed the government with the support of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and the National People’s Party (NPP) with Biren Singh as Chief Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Singh on his second term. He wrote on Twitter, "Congratulations to Shri @NBirenSingh Ji on being sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Manipur. I am confident his team and he would take Manipur to newer heights of progress and continue the good work done in the last five years."
Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma also congratulated his Mizoram counterpart on Twitter.
He wrote, "Heartiest congratulations to Shri @NBirenSingh ji on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the 2nd consecutive term."
"I'm sure you will carry forward Adarniya PM Shri @narendramodi ji's vision and work with renewed zeal to ensure faster development in the state," he added.
Meanwhile, BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda was in he state to be present in the swearing in ceremony. He tweeted, "Heartiest congratulations to @NBirenSingh Ji on being swore in as the CM of Manipur and to all the members of the newly elected cabinet."
"Under the leadership and guidance of PM @narendramodi, Manipur will soar to new heights & prosperity, giving rise to a new dawn of development," he further wrote.
