President's rule revoked in Manipur after a year; Yumnam Khemchand Singh set to take oath as CM

President’s Rule in the northeastern border state of Manipur has been lifted almost a year after it was imposed, just hours before the swearing-in ceremony of the new state government scheduled for Wednesday evening. Legislators from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are set to formally join the newly reconstituted government headed by Chief Minister-designate Yumnam Khemchand Singh.

President’s Rule was enforced in February 2025 following the resignation of then Chief Minister N Biren Singh. During this period, the Manipur Legislative Assembly remained under suspended animation, neither dissolved nor functioning. Yumnam Khemchand Singh, who belongs to the Meitei community, will be joined by two Deputy Chief Ministers: Nemcha Kipgen from the Kuki community and Losii Dikho from the Naga tribe. According to reports, Kipgen is expected to take her oath at a Manipur government guesthouse in Delhi.

Seven-time MLA Govindas Konthoujam from Bishnupur district has been assigned the Home portfolio. Speaking on his new role, he said he would work with discipline and restraint, prioritising stability and law and order in the state. At 61, Khemchand is viewed within party circles as a consensus-driven and non-controversial leader, acceptable to various internal factions during a sensitive political phase. Though he has limited experience leading from the front during crises, sources describe him as an administrator who could provide organisational coherence, discipline, and quiet authority rather than relying on populist rhetoric.

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Manipur continues to witness a fragile calm nearly three years after violent clashes erupted between the Meitei community, which dominates the central valley regions, and the Kuki tribes concentrated largely in the hill districts. Sections of the Kuki population have been demanding a separate administrative arrangement, a demand being negotiated through two umbrella groups representing around two dozen insurgent outfits that are signatories to the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement.

In recent weeks, as talks to form a new government were underway, several Kuki civil society groups announced they would not participate in any Manipur government.

They also distanced themselves from the Kuki MLAs expected to join the cabinet. A day before the formation of the new government was announced, prominent Kuki leader Paolienlal Haokip, a vocal critic of the former Chief Minister, posted on X that without justice for what he termed ethnic cleansing, and in the absence of a written political settlement, Kuki-Zo representatives could not take part in the selection of the legislative party leader.

On the other hand, Meitei civil society organisations have argued that the immediate priority should be the safe return of all internally displaced persons, even as political dialogue continues. Kuki leaders, however, insist that discussions on resettlement or rehabilitation cannot proceed without first securing a political solution in the form of a separate administrative setup. Meitei leaders have countered this stance by accusing Kuki leadership of pursuing an ethnically exclusive homeland. They argue that political negotiations and the return of displaced families can move forward simultaneously, noting that no part of Manipur is inhabited exclusively by a single ethnic group.