Yumnam Khemchand Singh takes oath as Manipur CM; two Kuki, Naga MLAs become Dy CMs

Imphal: Senior BJP leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh, a Meitei, took oath as the Manipur chief minister at the Lok Bhavan on Wednesday, thereby ending the President's rule which was in force in the state since February 13, 2023.

In a balancing act, Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki-Zo BJP MLA from Kangpokpi took oath as deputy chief minister virtually from New Delhi. She will be the first woman and the first Kuki-Zo to hold the post. This is despite strong opposition from Kuki organisations. Another deputy chief minister Losii Dikho, from the Naga People's Front was also sworn in. Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla administered the oath. Senior Meitei BJP leader Govindas Konthoujam and K Loken Singh of ally NPP took oath as ministers with Govindas allotted the home portfolio. Soon after the swearing-in, a cabinet meeting took place.

Meanwhile, the Kuki Inpi Manipur rejected the formation of any popular government stating: "Such a government will be nothing more than a Meitei-centric political arrangement, incapable of delivering peace, justice, or reconciliation. On the contrary, it will only embolden the state machinery to continue its agenda of domination, persecution, and systematic subjugation of the Kuki Zo people...The organisation reiterates that no Kuki-Zo MLA should, under any circumstances, associate with or lend legitimacy to a so-called popular government".