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Yumnam Khemchand Singh set to be Manipur CM, two deputies on the cards
Yumnam Khemchand Singh is appointed as Manipur's next CM amid ongoing ethnic strife, with a focus on Kuki-Zo and Naga representation in the cabinet.
Former Manipur speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh is set to be the next chief minister of the strife-torn state after the 62-year-old Meitei leader was appointed as the legislative party leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday.
Singh’s election came at a meeting of BJP lawmakers in New Delhi on Tuesday evening. The party has 37 lawmakers in the 60-member assembly and is capable of forming the government on its own. To be sure, 10 of the 37 legislators are Kuki-Zo and at least five of them attended the meeting.
People aware of discussions said that controversial former chief minister Biren Singh will not be given any ministerial role or post in the new cabinet, which is likely to have two deputy chief ministers – one from the Kuki-Zo community and the other from the Naga community.
“I express my sincere gratitude to the Hon’ble BJP National President,@NitinNabin ji Hon’ble Prime Minister, @narendramodi Ji;Hon’ble UnionHome Minister, @AmitShah Ji; & all the respected MLAs of @BJP4Manipur for their trust in me by electing me as the Leader of the BJP Legislature,” Singh posted on X.
If Singh stakes claim to form government, it will mark the end of nearly a year long spell of President’s Rule in the state where ethnic clashes between the dominant Meiteis and the tribal Kukis broke out in May 2023 and till now resulted in the deaths of 260 people and the displacement of nearly 60,000 others.
On December 8 last year, Singh visited a Kuki-Zo relief camp, becoming the first Meitei MLA to venture into a Kuki-Zo village since the ethnic strife broke out.
Singh was earlier minister of municipal administration, housing development and panchayati raj in the Biren Singh government. Among the frontrunners to become the deputy CMs are BJP’s Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki-Zo leader from Kangpokpi, and Losii Dikho from BJP’s alliance partner Naga People’s Front.
“Heartiest congratulations to Hon’ble Shri @YKhemchandSingh on being elected as the BJP Legislature Party Leader of Manipur. On behalf of BJP Manipur Pradesh, we wish you great success. Your experience, dedication, and leadership will further strengthen the party and serve the aspirations of the people of Manipur,” the state unit posted on X.
A BJP worker aware of the matter said, “At least two more Kuki-Zo MLAs are likely to get ministerial berths in the new government. Govinddas Konthoujam is likely to get the home portfolio.”
The worker added that Kipgen’s likely appointment as deputy CM to represent the Kuki-Zo group might be significant because she, along with her husband Thangboi Kipgen, represent not just the Kuki-Zo community but also militant groups that have a suspension of operations pact with the Centre.
“Her husband is also the leader of the Kuki National Front (KNF), an influential SoO group in a peace pact with the Centre. The SoO groups, which have significant influence among Kuki-Zo people, will have representation in the cabinet. The NPF leader, who is from a neutral community, will also be a good move,” a BJP member said.
While Kipgen refused to comment, NPF’s Awangbow Newmai confirmed that senior party MLA Dikho would be the deputy CM
In the last two years, the NPF broke away from the alliance and refused to support Biren Singh. Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 13, 2025. The assembly was not dissolved but was placed under suspended animation, which allows the party with majority strength in the house to form a government at a later stage.
A week before President’s Rule was imposed, Biren Singh had resigned against the backdrop of mounting internal discord and the threat of a no-confidence motion, with reports suggesting that up to 10 BJP legislators were prepared to cross party lines. In the days after ethnic clashes broke out, 10 Kuki-Zo lawmakers of the BJP already severed ties with Singh, and demanded his resignation.
Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson of the influential Kuki-Zo group, Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), said, “The Kuki-Zo is not hopeful with the new formation. We don’t trust a government led by the Meiteis anymore. After all the unspeakable atrocities that we have gone through, it’s a separate administration that we are looking for.”
The Committee of Tribal Unity (COTU), a Kangpokpi based tribal body, in a statement said: “The Kuki-Zo community is appalled at the recent political development for reinstalling of a government without first resolving the undercurrent trust-defict between the Kuki-Zo and the Meitei...”
Paolienlal Haokip, one of the Kuki-Zo MLAs from the BJP said, “I have conveyed the wishes of the Kuki-Zo people to the central leadership that they should first consider a union territory for the Kuki-Zo people. Having another person as the CM was not what the Kuki-Zo people wanted. They want a political separation from the valley within the constitutional framework. There are some Kuki-Zo MLAs who support my belief.”
The developments came on a day home ministry officials met representatives of the Suspension of Operation(SoO) pact insurgent groups. There were three issues to be discussed during the meeting – the directions issued by SoO groups asking Kuki-Zo MLAs to support the government only if there is a written commitment by the new government to seek a Union Territory for hill districts where Kuki-Zo people live, the payment of wages to SoO cadres, which is part of the pact but is pending, and the relocation of camps.
“In the meeting on Tuesday, they discussed the issue related to the location of camps. The other two issues related to SoO groups directing their MLAs and the one related to payment will be taken up at 4 pm tomorrow,” an official, who asked not to be named, said.
