Manipur's New Government Takes Shape with Representation from Diverse Communities

A day after the BJP elected him as the leader of the Manipur legislature party, Yumnam Khemchand Singh took oath as the Chief Minister of the strife-torn state in a ceremony in Imphal’s Lok Bhavan. Two leaders, one each from the state’s Kuki-Zo and Naga communities, took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers in what appears to be an attempt at balance and outreach in the fractured and sensitive state. The two are Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki-Zo MLA from the BJP representing the Kangpokpi constituency, and Losii Dikho, an MLA from NDA ally Naga People’s Front representing the Mao constituency. In a first, Kipgen did not travel to Imphal on Wednesday and took the oath virtually from Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi via video. She was one of two Kuki-Zo ministers who had been part of N Biren Singh’s cabinet when the conflict in the state broke out, and held on to the position until his resignation. She, along with the rest of the Kuki-Zo MLAs, had refused to engage with Biren’s government, staying away from the government processes in Imphal. Losii Dikho is a three-time legislator and was a minister in the first Biren Singh government. Apart from the three top posts, only two other MLAs were sworn in as ministers on Wednesday. One of them is seven-time MLA Govindas Konthoujam from the BJP, who was part of Biren Singh’s cabinet and is known to be close to him. He is likely to be the Home Minister. Khuraijam Loken Singh, a first-time MLA from the valley and a leader from the National People’s Party – another key NDA partner – was also sworn in. The swearing-in ceremony took place hours after 62-year-old Khemchand met Governor Ajay Bhalla in the Lok Bhavan to stake claim to form a BJP-led NDA government in the state, soon after which President’s Rule was revoked. Significantly, though Kipgen did not travel to Imphal for the swearing-in, leaders who accompanied Khemchand to this meeting included two Kuki-Zo MLAs – L M Khaute and Ngursanglur Sanate, both from the BJP – marking the first time since the start of the conflict that legislators from the community have been in the state capital to engage in government processes. President’s Rule was imposed in the state on February 13 last year, and the assembly, whose tenure ends in 2027, was placed in suspended animation. Khemchand was a cabinet minister in the Biren government, but had emerged as one of his internal critics who pushed for his removal from the top post. After arriving in Imphal on Wednesday, Khemchand, who was also accompanied by Biren, went to meet Governor Bhalla. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, who was appointed Central Observer, and the party’s Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra accompanied him. Meanwhile, despite Kipgen being sworn in as Deputy CM and two Kuki-Zo MLAs supporting the government formation process, voices of discontent began to emerge from some Kuki-Zo groups. The Churachandpur-based Kuki-Zo Council declared in a statement on Wednesday that “it is neither logical nor acceptable for the Kuki-Zo people to join a government formed with those from whom we have been violently separated”. It referred to a meeting held last month in which Kuki-Zo insurgent groups and MLAs had declared a set of “pre-requisites” for participation in a new popular government, including a written “political commitment” by the state and central governments on a separate Union Territory for Kuki-Zo-majority areas. The Council warned that “any Kuki-Zo MLA who chooses to disregard the collective decision will be doing so in their individual capacity and KZC shall not be held accountable for the consequences arising from such unilateral decisions”. Similarly, Ng Lun Kipgen, spokesperson of the Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity, said the government was being reinstalled “without first resolving the undercurrent trust deficit between the Kuki-Zo and the Meitei”.