IMPHAL, December 3: With the BJP’s witnessing some positive changes of late in the State and the State elections expected in early 2017, the tenure of the party’s incumbent State president may be extended till the elections, informed an inside source of the party.
The source said, the mandal phase of the BJP Manipur’s organisational election has already been completed and the State Returning Officer of the election has already submitted his report to the Central high command of the party.
It is also learnt that several of the State leaders of the party had already rushed for the national capital to lobby for the presidential post.
However, Central leaders, according to the source, have already shown interest in extending the tenure of the incumbent president Th Chaoba by a few months or till the elections considering the present changes in the fortune of the BJP with the party winning both the Thangmeiband and Thongju Assembly seats in the recent bye-election.
It may be mentioned that Chaoba was appointed the president of the BJP Manipur in 2012 by the Central leaders with an eye to capture power in the 2017 State General Election.
The then BJP national general secretary and in-charge Manipur Tapir Gao along with national leaders Chandrasekhar Rao and BJP Manipur secretary Laimayum Basanta Sharma had urged him to join the BJP Manipur Pradesh and replace the then party president in order to strengthen the party.
According to the source, central leaders still have faith in him to capture power from the Congress in the 2017 election.