Manipur gets Meitei CM with Kuki, Naga as deputies

GUWAHATI/IMPHAL: Yumnam Khemchand Singh of BJP was sworn in Wednesday as the CM of Manipur's reinstated NDA govt along with Kuki legislator Nemcha Kipgen and Naga MLA Losii Dikho as his deputies, marking a fresh spin on shared governance in a multi-ethnic state riven by the Meitei-Kuki conflict.

Governor AK Bhalla also administered the oath of office to BJP's Konthoujam Govindas and Khuraijam Loken Singh of NPP as cabinet ministers at the Lok Bhavan ceremony, which ended almost a year of President’s rule since N Biren Singh resigned over criticism of the previous govt's handling of the violence that erupted in May 2023.

Khemchand Singh, a former assembly speaker from the state’s majority Meitei community, said there was nothing he wanted more than to fulfil the faith reposed in him by PM Modi and home minister Amit Shah.

Banking on all 36 communities to restore peace: Manipur CM

Manipur has 36 communities. Our hope rests on all of them to help establish a peaceful atmosphere,” CM Khemchand Singh told reporters.

Khemchand, elected leader of the BJP legislature party on Tuesday, had called on the governor along with central observer Tarun Chugh, BJP's northeast coordinator Sambit Patra and ex-CM Biren Singh, among others, to stake claim to form the govt.

PM Modi, who visited the state last Sept for the first time since the conflict, congratulated the new CM and his newly-inducted colleagues in a post on X. “I am confident they will work diligently towards furthering development and prosperity for my sisters and brothers of Manipur,” he wrote.

Deputy CM Dikho, who is from BJP ally Naga People’s Front, reinforced the sentiment of reconciliation. “We hope to fulfil the people’s aspirations. Our first task is to reach out to them. Inclusiveness is the mantra of this govt,” he said. On whether action would be taken against armed groups that had threatened Kuki legislators participating in govt formation, Dikho replied, “Why not?”

Kipgen, whose appointment as deputy CM has invited criticism from Kuki-Zo organisations pressing for the creation of a Union territory for the community, took oath through videoconferencing from Delhi’s Manipur Bhawan. The Kuki-Zo Council said any of the 10 MLAs from the party joining the govt would do so “at their own risk”.

Two Kuki-Zo MLAs, LM Khaute and Ngursanglur Sanate, attended the swearing-in, marking the first time in more than two years that any of the community’s elected representatives had set foot in Meitei-majority Imphal.

Four parties – Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma's NPP with six MLAs, NPF with five MLAs, JD(U) with one legislator and two independents – extended unconditional support to BJP. NPP had briefly withdrawn support to NDA in Manipur in Nov 2024, citing the then CM Biren Singh's failure to resolve the ethnic crisis. Khemchand chaired a cabinet meeting at his new official bungalow in the evening. “The meeting marked the beginning of collective decision-making and governance for the newly constituted state cabinet,” his office said in an official statement.

Sources said the assembly was likely to be in session from Friday. The House has been under suspended animation since Feb 2025.

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