Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Manipur on Wednesday, formally ending nearly a year of President’s Rule in the violence-hit northeastern state.
The oath-taking followed a Union government notification revoking President’s Rule, which had been imposed after the resignation of the previous BJP-led government amid prolonged ethnic unrest. “In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 356 of the Constitution, I, Droupadi Murmu, President of India, hereby revoke the Proclamation issued by me under the said article on the 13th day of February, 2025, in relation to the State of Manipur, with effect from the 4th day of February, 2026,” the Home Ministry notification said.
Alongside Khemchand Singh, BJP MLA Nemcha Kipgen, who belongs to the Kuki community, and Losii Dikho of the Naga People’s Front, representing the Naga community, were sworn in as deputy chief ministers. Kipgen became the first woman to hold the post in Manipur.
Manipur had been under President’s Rule since February 13 last year, four days after then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh stepped down amid sustained ethnic violence. His resignation on February 9 came after months of unrest between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
More than 260 people were killed, around 1,500 injured and over 70,000 displaced after violence erupted on May 3, 2023, following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised in the hill districts against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which was kept under suspended animation during President’s Rule, has a tenure until March 2027. Parliament had approved a six-month extension of President’s Rule in August last year, which was due to expire this month.
Earlier on Wednesday, Khemchand Singh met Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and staked his claim to form the new government, a day after being elected leader of the BJP’s legislative party. He had previously served as Assembly Speaker from 2017 to 2022 and as a minister in the Biren Singh cabinet.
