As pressure builds to restore an elected government in Manipur, which has been under President’s Rule for months, BJP national general secretary for organisation BL Santhosh and the party’s Northeast Coordinator Sambit Patra have reached Imphal for a crucial three-day visit.

Party sources said the two senior leaders will hold separate meetings with MLAs from the hill and valley regions. The move reflects the BJP’s effort to bridge the deep ethnic divide that has frozen governance in the state for over a year. They are also expected to meet alliance partners, including the Naga People’s Front, to gauge the political mood and explore a common ground for the next steps.

During their stay, the leaders are also likely to interact with key intellectuals and opinion-makers in the state to understand the concerns of different communities.

Sources said that if the separate meetings with party MLAs are held, they will likely take place at different locations. For instance, the meeting with Kuki MLAs is expected to happen in the Churachandpur district.

This visit comes just weeks after former chief minister N Biren Singh travelled to Delhi with a group of MLAs to press for what he called the “early formation of a popular government”. His move had triggered talk within BJP circles that the central leadership might be planning a major political reset in the troubled state.

Although the BJP has not made any official statement yet, the ongoing series of meetings in Imphal and Delhi has added to the speculation that a new government could soon take shape. Party insiders believe the aim could be to form a broader political arrangement that brings back stability and governance.

Manipur has been reeling under unrest since May 2023, when violent clashes broke out between the Meitei community from the valley and the Kuki-Zo tribes from the hills after a court backed Meitei demands for Scheduled Tribe status. The violence led to hundreds of deaths and forced over seventy thousand people from their homes. Even with heavy deployment of central forces, peace has remained fragile and the political system has been largely paralysed for more than a year.