Inducting 7 more in the Ministry Council of Ministers
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It seems the Council of Ministers is set to be expanded and Manipur may well see the full strength of the Ministry-at 12-if the report that Chief Minister Yumnam Khem-chand is set to proceed to Delhi on February 21 and meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on February 22 is anything to go by. Sworn in on February 4 with four other MLAs, including two Deputy Chief Ministers, Manipur has been under a popular Government for over two weeks with just five in the 12 member Council of Ministers, giving room for some to raise questions, some of which may be uncomfortable. First among equals, is text book understanding of a Chief Minister and stretch this a little bit and the understanding one gets is that the first among equals is the one who gets to choose his team, the team known as the Council of Ministers. However for over 14 days, the Chief Minister and his two Deputy and the other two Ministers sworn in, have been functioning without a full strength Council of Ministers and this is where the proposed Delhi visit and the meeting with the Union Home Minister leaves enough room to raise certain questions, which may be tagged unpleasant. One such question is whether it is going to be a case of the Chief Minister proceeding to Delhi with a list of MLAs he wants to be included in the Council of Ministers or whether he would be given a list of MLAs who should be inducted in the Ministry. Or is it going to be a case of the Chief Minister submitting his proposal and the Centre too coming out its list and the two working out an acceptable composition ? All questions at the moment, but questions which can go some way shaping the image of the new Chief Minister. How things unfold remains to be seen, but these are important questions and while no verbal answer is expected, Manipur cannot remain blind to the obvious which will unveil itself as the days go by. To many, the new Chief Minister has two or three options. One is to put his foot down and make it clear that he wants people who he can work with and two accept what the Centre suggests. The third and this seems to be more likely is for the Chief Minister to walk the middle path and work out a formula or arrangement to accommodate the Centre, but under the conditions laid down by him. Such an eventuality can perhaps be the first test of the Chief Minister and that is to see how he deals with the working style of Delhi. The Congress too would be watching the developments with more than just a cursory interest, for the equation between the Chief Minister and the Centre can go a long way in influencing the understanding of the BJP, as a political party, in the run up to the next Assembly election, which is due in the early part of 2027.
The task before the Chief Minister is not easy. First he has to lead by example to show that the Government under the BJP is more than keen to take Manipur to the road of normalcy and secondly he has to demonstrate that he is not a pushover, a man who has his own conviction. How Khemchand manages to do this, while remaining a faithful party man, will be tough, but the task before him is cut out. Demonstrate not only to Delhi but also the people of Manipur that he is the man of the moment, a man who has the unenviable task of pulling the State out of the morass that finds itself in for nearly three years now but a man who is determined to do it. And it goes without saying that much will depend on the composition of the Council of Ministers. Men and women he can trust and who are more than ready to deliver the goods and not just build up their personal stock. At the moment, the new Chief Minister appears to have all the goodwill of the people, cutting across ethnic divide and perhaps his open interaction via video conference testifies this and this is something which should not be squandered away. Heavy expectations, but then the chair of the Chief Minister always comes with its share of duty, duties which may not always end in gratitude from the people, but a job has to be done. This is where the composition of the Ministry will go a long way in determining the position of the CM.
The task before the Chief Minister is not easy. First he has to lead by example to show that the Government under the BJP is more than keen to take Manipur to the road of normalcy and secondly he has to demonstrate that he is not a pushover, a man who has his own conviction. How Khemchand manages to do this, while remaining a faithful party man, will be tough, but the task before him is cut out. Demonstrate not only to Delhi but also the people of Manipur that he is the man of the moment, a man who has the unenviable task of pulling the State out of the morass that finds itself in for nearly three years now but a man who is determined to do it. And it goes without saying that much will depend on the composition of the Council of Ministers. Men and women he can trust and who are more than ready to deliver the goods and not just build up their personal stock. At the moment, the new Chief Minister appears to have all the goodwill of the people, cutting across ethnic divide and perhaps his open interaction via video conference testifies this and this is something which should not be squandered away. Heavy expectations, but then the chair of the Chief Minister always comes with its share of duty, duties which may not always end in gratitude from the people, but a job has to be done. This is where the composition of the Ministry will go a long way in determining the position of the CM.