MANIPUR got a new Chief Minister, one year after the resignation of BJP leader N Biren Singh, as BJP leader Y Khemchand Singh was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the State on Wednesday. Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 62-year-old legislator. BJP MLA Nemcha Kipgen, who belongs to the Kuki community, and Naga People’s Front legislator L Dikho took oath as the Deputy Chief Ministers of Manipur. BJP’s Govindas Konthoujam and K Loken Singh of NPP were also sworn in as ministers. Kipgen took oath virtually from Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Lok Bhavan here, hours after the President’s Rule in the State was revoked.

 

Restive Manipur had been under the President’s rule since February last year. The ceremony was attended by several BJP legislators, senior party functionaries, and top leaders of the NDA in the State. Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts, in protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Since then, at least 260 people, including members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities as well as security personnel, have been killed in the violence, while thousands become homeless. Notably, the BJP legislature party of Manipur had on Tuesday elected Y Khemchand Singh as its leader at a meeting held at the party headquarters in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by 35 of the 37 BJP MLAs.