Biren Singh sworn in as Manipur CM for 2nd time

Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party leader N Biren Singh was Monday sworn in as the chief minister of Manipur for the second time at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal.

Singh, along with five cabinet ministers, were administered the oath by Governor La Ganesan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Singh for assuming the charge for a second straight term.

"Congratulations to Shri @NBirenSingh Ji on being sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Manipur. I am confident his team and he would take Manipur to newer heights of progress and continue the good work done in the last five years," Modi tweeted.

Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Kiren Rijiju had on Sunday handed over a letter to Ganesan, stating that Singh was elected unanimously as the leader of the BJP legislature party with 32 MLAs.

The governor then invited Singh to form the next government in Manipur.

The five cabinet ministers who took oath along with Singh were Thongam Bishwajit Singh, Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Govindas Konthoujam, Nemcha Kipgen -- all from the BJP -- and Awngbow Newmai from the Naga People's Front.

Two political parties, the Janata Dal-United with six members, and the Kuki People's Alliance with two members and one independent, "extended their unconditional support to the BJP", the Raj Bhavan had said in a statement on Sunday.

Following this, the BJP-led government's strength rose to 41, a two thirds majority in the 60-member Manipur assembly.

After a legislature party meeting in Imphal on Sunday, Sitharaman, who was sent to the northeastern state as central observer, said Singh was unanimously chosen by the BJP's state legislature party as its leader.

The legislature party's meeting and announcement followed 10 days of uncertainty since the assembly poll results were announced, with rivals Biren Singh and senior BJP MLA Th Biswajit Singh rushing to Delhi twice to meet central leaders in what was seen as part of a hectic lobbying exercise by competing camps, despite denials of differences.

The BJP returned to power in Manipur by winning 32 seats in the 60-member House in the recent assembly elections.

In the 2017 polls, although the BJP had won only 21 seats, it managed to lure MLAs from the Congress, which clinched 28 seats, and Biren Singh was sworn in as the first-ever BJP chief minister in Manipur.