By Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : High voltage political sources have revealed that there is likely to be a tectonic shift in the political scenario of Manipur, two three days or immediately. The unnamed sources have revealed that the Manipur Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, will be removed from his post tomorrow, and Minister Thongam Biswajit Singh will be sworn in as the next CM.Biren Singh’s reign has been tumultuous, to say the least, as Manipur saw widespread protests during the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill ruckus in the state. A source revealed that the contention over the Chief Minister’s post has been going on for 5 months over the portfolio distribution. The source, on condition of anonymity, said “Biswajit is being supported by the RSS. They have a great deal of influence in Manipur, even though they maintain a low profile. They brought in N Biren, but recently, problems started because of complaints from Congress and the Deputy Chief Minister. Even the Congress leaders are firmly behind Biswajit. The allocation of budget is also a major bone of contention. Biren has also been weakened by the the withdrawal of support from the NPF party”.

The source also says that the RSS is not content with Biren Singh as he seems to be favoring his close aides only. Moreover, Biren Singh received harsh criticism for allegedly ‘hiding’ grants allocated by the Central Government, among other charges of corruption, the source said. It may be mentioned here that on September 29, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and some other leaders of the state BJP, including Rajya Sabha MP K.Bhabananda, and Works Minister Th Bishwajit met top profile Central BJP leaders at the Head Office of BJP at New Delhi yesterday. It is pertinent to mention here that BJP leader N Biren Singh was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Manipur on March 15, 2017.On other hand, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said Monipur Political Crisis blows over. The crisis over Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh seems to have passed with the BJP high command in New Delhi having taken a decision that there will not be a change of leadership in the State’s government. According to top sources in the BJP, Mr. Singh along with other MLAs met with BJP president Amit Shah, working president J.P.Nadda and general secretary organisation B.L.Santhosh late on Wednesday evening and had a patient hearing from all the three. He had been facing dissidence from within his own government and also protests over the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), which home minister Amit Shah had declared would be coming soon, before undertaking a National Registration of Citizens (NRC) exercise in several parts of the country.BJP leadership told Mr. Singh that a senior leader from Delhi will be sent to Manipur soon to settle the internal issues within the party, including, possibly effecting a Cabinet reshuffle in the State that could go a long way in calming tempers.

The issue of CAB has also led to protests in the State, with some dissidents raising this as an issue that requires sensitive handling.According to senior BJP leaders in the know, Mr. Shah has assured that there would be nothing done to affect the culture and rights of the indigenous population in the State, but while the hill areas are protected under Article 371(c) of the Constitution, those residing in the Valley, the Sanamahi and Hindu Meiteis both, are sensitive over the issue. The Manipur Assembly had passed the Manipur People’s Protection Bill, 2018 in July last year aimed at providing protection to the Meiteis in the Valley. That measure is still pending with the Rashtrapati Bhawan.Its mention here that Despite winning only 21 seats in the 60-seated state legislative Assembly, BJP engineered an alliance and succeeded in coming to power. To Biren’s credit, right from day one, his government was put on mission mode. Political analysts observed that the infighting is likely to be resolved in another day or two. The in-fighting within BJP in the saffron party-led Manipur government has finally reached its zenith, with nine out of 12 ministers currently camping in Delhi, haggling with the party leadership to be sympathetic to their conflicting demands. Despite winning only 21 seats in the 60-seated state legislative Assembly, BJP engineered an alliance and succeeded in coming to power on 15 March, 2017, beating the single largest party, Congress, which won 28 seats. The BJP-led government was formed with the support of four MLAs each from NPP and NPF, one each from Congress, LJP, Trinamool and an independent. Later the coalition formation was further strengthened when eight Congress MLAs deflected to the BJP, taking its strength to 39. Accuding Chief Minister N Biren Singh of operating in a monocratic style and exercising undue favouritism while dealing with the eight Congress turncoats over BJP’s own MLAs, the dissident camp — led by the young turk Thongam Biswajit Singh — is batting for a change in leadership and wants the 30-month-old chief minister removed.Meanwhile, The uncertainty surrounding the BJP government in Manipur seems to be finished with the party’s national leadership backing Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who will now continue at the top post despite a dissidence in the state unit. Advertising Sources said the BJP central leadership has not agreed with the dissidents, led by Public Works Department minister Th Biswajit Singh, who have been demanding a leadership change in the state. Biren Singh, who has been in the national capital from two days, met BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday.