At least 14 BJP MLAs in strife-hit Manipur on Saturday held a discussion with state president A. Sharda Devi on the issue of forming a government in the state.

Manipur is currently under the President’s rule with the Assembly under suspended animation.

Saturday’s discussion follows the closed-door meeting held by 25 BJP MLAs at the residence of former minister Th. Biswajit Singh in Imphal on Friday evening.

The BJP insiders told The Telegraph that the back-to-back meetings on Friday and Saturday focused on forming a popular government and presenting a united face of the party to remove the perception that it is a divided house on the issue of government formation or the selection of a new leader after the resignation of former chief minister N. Biren Singh.

Singh quit on February 9 following growing resentment within the party over his poor handling of the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos that erupted on May 3, 2023.

According to the sources, Sharda Devi and party MLAs K. Ibomcha and P. Brojendro said after the two-hour meeting that they discussed government formation and that there were no differences among the party legislators.

The BJP has 37 MLAs after the merger of five JDU MLAs in a House of 59. The 37 BJP MLAs include seven Kuki-Zo MLAs, who have stayed away from Imphal Valley because of security concerns. The seven BJP Kuki-Zo MLAs, along with three other Kuki-Zo MLAs, are keen on a separate administration for their community as part of a solution to the ongoing conflict. The Congress has five MLAs in the House.