Manipur gets first BJP CM

Guwahati : The first BJP-led ministry in Manipur was installed today with Governor Najma Heptulla administering the oath of office and secrecy to a nine-member ministry headed by Chief Minister N Biren Singh in Imphal in presence of a galaxy of BJP leaders and outgoing Chief Minister and Congress veteran O Ibobi Singh.
A former Congress minister in the state, N Biren Singh shifted allegiance to the BJP in October last year. The first BJP government in Manipur assumed power with the support of four MLAs each of Nationalist People’s Party (NPP) and Naga People’s Front (NPF), the lone MLA of LJP, lone MLA of AITC, one Independent and one Congress MLA.
With 21 MLAs of the BJP, the ruling coalition has a strength of 33 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur House.
BJP president Amit Shah who, along with Union minister Venkaiah Naidu, was scheduled to attend the swearing-in ceremony, could not come because of a snag in their aircraft and had to return to New Delhi.
One of the NPP MLAs and former Director General of Police in Manipur, Y Joykumar Singh, was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister. He was once considered the right-hand man of Ibobi Singh in respect of tackling law and order in the insurgency-ravaged state of Manipur. All the four NPP MLAs have been accommodated in the ministry, which still has three berths to be filled.
The titular king of Manipur, Leishemba Sanajaoba, who had attended BJP campaign meetings during elections, was also present at the Raj Bhavan.