There was buzz that the expansion will take place in the last week of February, but the central leaders are yet to give the go ahead for the expansion.
The strength of the council of ministers in Manipur is 12. Recently, five ministers were sworn in.
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, on Tuesday, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and informed him on the initiatives taken by the new state government to restore peace and harmony in the state.
An official of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in Imphal said that the chief minister, accompanied by the two deputy chief ministers — Nemcha Kipgen and Losii Dikho — met the Prime Minister at his office at Seva Teerth in New Delhi.
This was the first meeting between Chief Minister Khemchand Singh and Prime Minister Modi since the former assumed office on February 4.
The chief minister and his two deputies met several ministers and top BJP leadership in New Delhi.Losii Dikho, deputy chief minister, told media persons at the Imphal airport that he did not know when the expansion of the council of ministers would take place.
He said that the budget session of assembly may take place in the second week of March.
“The central leadership is assessing the whole thing. It will take some more time to work out the combination of the ministry,” a senior BJP leader said.
The state will go to assembly polls next year. BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte passed on Saturday. He was the first MLA victim of Manipur’s ethnic violence that broke out on May 3, 2023. He belonged to the Zomi tribe.
So far, three of the ten Kuki Zo MLAs — Nemcha Kipgen, LM Khaute and Ngursanglur Sanate — have been involved in the government formation process.
Of the ten Kuki Zo MLAs, seven belong to the BJP, while the remaining three are affiliated with local Kuki Zo organisations.
On February 5, the Khemchand-led NDA government in Manipur won the floor test in the Manipur assembly.
Khemchand moved the motion of confidence and MLAs from the valley and Naga inhabited areas were present. However, some MLAs participated in assembly proceedings virtually.
