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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators convened a meeting at the residence of in Imphal intensifying efforts to restore an elected government in the state. The meeting was held at the

house of party MLA Thongam Biswajit Singh. Advertisement The discussion among the BJP lawmakers comes just days after a delegation of 10 MLAs—including eight from the BJP, one from the

National People’s Party (NPP), and one Independent—met Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at Raj Bhavan on May 28. Advertisement The legislators formally staked a claim to form a “popular

government,” nearly four months after President’s Rule was imposed in the state on February 13. The political vacuum followed the resignation of former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, a

senior BJP leader, amid continuing ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities that erupted on May 3, 2023. The unrest has resulted in the deaths of over 200 people,

displacement of thousands, and a complete breakdown of trust between the valley and hill populations. The call for reinstating an elected government has coincided with a surge in civil

unrest in the Imphal valley. Meitei civil society groups recently launched a civil disobedience campaign after security personnel allegedly masked the “Manipur State Transport” signage on a

government-run bus on May 20. Protesters claim this act symbolized the erasure of Manipur’s identity under central control. Advertisement