Who is Y Khemchand Singh, BJP leader sworn in as Manipur CM?
BJP leader Y Khemchand Singh was sworn in as the chief minister of Manipur, ending months of President's Rule and restoring an elected government in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party formally began the process of government formation in Manipur with the election of Yumnam Khemchand Singh as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party. The decision was taken at a legislature party meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Khemchand Singh was sworn in as the chief minister on Wednesday, marking the end of President’s Rule in the state. A two-time BJP legislator, he is a long-time RSS functionary and is known as an organisation-focused leader who has held several key constitutional and ministerial positions in Manipur.
Sources said the new government is likely to have two deputy chief ministers. Kuki BJP MLA Nemcha Kipgen, who represents the Kangpokpi Assembly constituency, took oath as deputy chief minister virtually. A prominent Kuki leader, Kipgen has earlier served as a minister handling key portfolios, including commerce and industry, textiles and cooperation, and social welfare.
Senior Naga People’s Front leader Losii Dikho also took oath as deputy chief minister. Dikho has been elected to the Manipur Legislative Assembly from Mao in 2012, 2017 and 2022. He is the Legislature Party leader of the NPF in the Manipur Assembly and previously served as minister for public health engineering department (PHED), printing and stationery in the N Biren Singh cabinet from 2017 to 2022.
Apart from politics, Khemchand Singh has had a long association with Taekwondo. A black belt holder, he is a former vice-president of the Taekwondo Federation of India and has been involved in promoting the sport in the Northeast.
Though active in politics for decades, the 62-year-old leader made his Assembly debut in 2017 from the Singjamei constituency in Imphal West district. He was elected Speaker of the Manipur Assembly during the first BJP government led by N Biren Singh. In 2022, he was inducted into the second Biren Singh ministry as a Cabinet minister and handled key portfolios, including municipal administration, housing and urban development (MAHUD), rural development and panchayati raj, and education.
He served in the Cabinet till February 2025, when President’s Rule was imposed in the state, days after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister amid criticism over the government’s handling of the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis that erupted in May 2023.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Govindas Konthoujam is set to take charge as Manipur’s home minister, according to sources. Konthoujam, who represents the Bishnupur Assembly constituency, is a former Congress leader who joined the BJP ahead of the last Assembly elections. He has been elected seven consecutive times to the Manipur Legislative Assembly and has earlier served as the state’s public works minister. In the second N Biren Singh ministry, he handled the PWD and youth affairs and sports portfolios.
Ahead of the leadership selection, the BJP Parliamentary Board appointed party national general secretary Tarun Chugh as the central observer to oversee the election of the legislature party leader and facilitate the government formation process. Several BJP MLAs and senior leaders from Manipur travelled to New Delhi to attend meetings with the party’s central leadership.
Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 13, 2025, following severe ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities. The Centre extended President’s Rule for another six months in August 2025. The state has remained politically unstable since the resignation of the BJP-led government headed by N Biren Singh on February 9, 2025, after which the 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly, whose term runs till 2027, was placed under suspended animation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party formally began the process of government formation in Manipur with the election of Yumnam Khemchand Singh as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party. The decision was taken at a legislature party meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Khemchand Singh was sworn in as the chief minister on Wednesday, marking the end of President’s Rule in the state. A two-time BJP legislator, he is a long-time RSS functionary and is known as an organisation-focused leader who has held several key constitutional and ministerial positions in Manipur.
Sources said the new government is likely to have two deputy chief ministers. Kuki BJP MLA Nemcha Kipgen, who represents the Kangpokpi Assembly constituency, took oath as deputy chief minister virtually. A prominent Kuki leader, Kipgen has earlier served as a minister handling key portfolios, including commerce and industry, textiles and cooperation, and social welfare.
Senior Naga People’s Front leader Losii Dikho also took oath as deputy chief minister. Dikho has been elected to the Manipur Legislative Assembly from Mao in 2012, 2017 and 2022. He is the Legislature Party leader of the NPF in the Manipur Assembly and previously served as minister for public health engineering department (PHED), printing and stationery in the N Biren Singh cabinet from 2017 to 2022.
Apart from politics, Khemchand Singh has had a long association with Taekwondo. A black belt holder, he is a former vice-president of the Taekwondo Federation of India and has been involved in promoting the sport in the Northeast.
Though active in politics for decades, the 62-year-old leader made his Assembly debut in 2017 from the Singjamei constituency in Imphal West district. He was elected Speaker of the Manipur Assembly during the first BJP government led by N Biren Singh. In 2022, he was inducted into the second Biren Singh ministry as a Cabinet minister and handled key portfolios, including municipal administration, housing and urban development (MAHUD), rural development and panchayati raj, and education.
He served in the Cabinet till February 2025, when President’s Rule was imposed in the state, days after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister amid criticism over the government’s handling of the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis that erupted in May 2023.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Govindas Konthoujam is set to take charge as Manipur’s home minister, according to sources. Konthoujam, who represents the Bishnupur Assembly constituency, is a former Congress leader who joined the BJP ahead of the last Assembly elections. He has been elected seven consecutive times to the Manipur Legislative Assembly and has earlier served as the state’s public works minister. In the second N Biren Singh ministry, he handled the PWD and youth affairs and sports portfolios.
Ahead of the leadership selection, the BJP Parliamentary Board appointed party national general secretary Tarun Chugh as the central observer to oversee the election of the legislature party leader and facilitate the government formation process. Several BJP MLAs and senior leaders from Manipur travelled to New Delhi to attend meetings with the party’s central leadership.
Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 13, 2025, following severe ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities. The Centre extended President’s Rule for another six months in August 2025. The state has remained politically unstable since the resignation of the BJP-led government headed by N Biren Singh on February 9, 2025, after which the 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly, whose term runs till 2027, was placed under suspended animation.