A Congress party led coalition in Manipur, headed by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, is to be sworn-in for the second straight term on Friday, officials said.
A government spokesperson said Manipur Governor SS Sidhu would administer the oath of office and secrecy to the 59-year-old chief minister at a simple function at around 1 pm at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal.
"Only the chief minister would probably be sworn in. The council of ministers would take oath on a later date," a senior Congress leader said.
The Congress party pulled off an emphatic victory for the second successive term, winning 30 seats in the 60-member legislature for which results were announced on Tuesday.
The Manipur People's Party that emerged as the main challenger received a shocking drubbing, winning just five seats.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) bagged five seats, independents won 10, Communist Party of India (CPI) got four and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the National People's Party won three seats each.
The RJD and the CPI have given written commitments to the governor to support the Congress party. "Technically speaking, we have now 37 legislatures with us and many others like the NCP and independents willing to support us," the Congress leader said.
The NCP and CPI were allies of the Congress in the last assembly. The Congress on its own had won 20 seats in the 2002 elections although its strength later rose to 35 with the NCP and candidates of a few smaller parties merging with the ruling party.
{{/usCountry}}The NCP and CPI were allies of the Congress in the last assembly. The Congress on its own had won 20 seats in the 2002 elections although its strength later rose to 35 with the NCP and candidates of a few smaller parties merging with the ruling party.
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