One Year Later, the Uncertainty Persists: Revisiting Biren’s Staged Resignation Drama to Save His Chair
Since N. Biren Singh became the chief minister of Manipur in 2017, his chair has always been shaking due to the rebel MLAs’ attempt to replace him. During his first stint, as many as 15 BJP MLAs out of 21 were not in favour of Biren’s chief-ministership. In the end, these rebel MLAs failed to topple his ministry, but they were able to exert strong pressure on both the central and state BJP leadership about their intention to replace Biren with a more capable and accommodative leader at the helm. During his second term in office, which began sometime in May 2022, the threat seemed lesser, but it continued to haunt him. The pressure has become more obvious since the outbreak of the current ethnic turmoil on May 3, 2023. While the Kukis are unanimous in their stand against the continuation of Biren as chief minister, there is a division of opinion within his own community. Half of the population thinks he is no longer fit to hold the post due to his misadventures and communal policies...