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N Biren Singh on Sunday resigned as Manipur chief minister, hours after a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah following infighting in the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state unit and the threat of a no-confidence motion in the assembly. Ethnic violence in the northeastern province has left over 250 people dead and thousands displaced.
Singh submitted his resignation to Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla in the state capital Imphal at around 5.30 pm, a day before the state assembly was to convene for the budget session. The budget session was adjourned on Sunday evening.
"It has been an honour to serve the people of Manipur so far. I am extremely grateful to the central government for its timely action, intervention, development work and implementation of various projects to safeguard the interests of every person of Manipur," Singh said in his resignation letter.
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He was accompanied by BJP's northeast in-charge Sambit Patra, state president A Sharda and 19 MLAs. Patra will stay in Imphal, where he will help the party select a successor to Singh.
I don't think it was the right time for Singh to resign. Jitendra Ningomba, former coordinator of the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (KOCOMI), a prominent Meitei organisation, said.
"We believe he knew he would be ousted in the no-confidence motion in the Manipur assembly, and may have tendered his resignation to save his reputation," ITLF spokesperson Ginza Wualzong said.
The demand for Singh's sacking has intensified nearly two years after clashes between the majority Meitei and minority Kukis began in the state on May 3, 2023. Long-running ethnic animosity has meant that the Meitei, who live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis, who live mainly in the hills, have retreated to their respective strongholds, and there are strong buffer zones separating the two.