25 BJP MLAs from Manipur await audience with Amit Shah

As many as 25 Bharatiya Janata Party legislators from Manipur, led by former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who expected to get an audience with Home Minister Amit Shah after arriving in Delhi earlier this week, met BJP State in-charge Sambit Patra late on Wednesday (October 8, 2025).

The group of MLAs conveyed to Mr. Patra that there was “no infighting” within the State BJP and that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) should revoke the President’s Rule and reinstate the popular government. The meeting was held at Manipur Bhavan in Delhi.

Manipur was placed under President’s Rule on February 13 and the Assembly has been kept under suspended animation since then. Ethnic violence between the Kuki-Zo and the Meitei community erupted in the State on May 3, 2023 which has claimed the lives of around 250 people and displaced around 60,000 people.

The MLAs landed in Delhi on October 4 and 5. They are expected to meet B.L Santhosh, National General Secretary (Organisation) of the BJP, on Friday.

Cites disconnect

One of the MLAs who attended the meeting with Mr. Patra said on condition of anonymity, “We told Mr. Patra that government should be formed at the earliest as people were seeking answers from elected representatives. There is a disconnect between bureaucrats and elected members when it comes to planning and deciding projects.”

The MLA added that though law and order had considerably improved and there were no major incidents of violence since President’s Rule was imposed, “it is the bureaucrats who are calling the shots without consulting the public representatives.”

Asked whether Mr. Shah had agreed to meet them, another MLA said, “we never sought appointment with him. Right now, we wanted to convey that there is consensus among BJP MLAs on government formation, the next time may be when we get other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents with us, then we will meet the Home Minister. We demanded government formation at the earliest.”

There are 37 BJP MLAs, including seven from the Kuki-Zo community in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, which currently has the strength of 59 as one member passed away earlier this year. The Kuki-Zo MLAs are not part of this group and did not attend Wednesday’s meeting. Six MLAs are from the National People’s Party (NPP), five MLAs are from the National People’s Front and one MLA is from the Janata Dal (U) — all three are part of the NDA at national level.

The first MLA quoted above said, “we have been told that that government formation cannot take place till members of all the communities come together. We are ensuring that in the next meeting, Kuki-Zo MLAs are also there. It was conveyed to us that senior leaders [Home Minister and BJP President J.P. Nadda] are busy with Bihar elections and any meeting is possible only after that.”