Former Assembly Speaker and Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh has been sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Manipur. The swearing-in ceremony took place a day after the BJP announced him as the new Legislature Party Leader in New Delhi. Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla administered the oath of office and secrecy to Khemchand Singh, two Deputy Chief Ministers, and two other ministers at the Lok Bhavan.
The other ministers who took the oath are Nemcha Kipgen and Govindas Konthoujam from the BJP, Loishi Dikho of the Naga People’s Front (NPF), and Khuraijam Loken Singh of the National People’s Party. Former minister Nemcha Kipgen took the oath virtually from Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi as Deputy Chief Minister. Dikho of the NPF also took the oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.
The Khemchand Singh-led ministry is set to be expanded later as seven ministerial berths remain vacant. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by BJP’s newly appointed Central observer Tarun Chugh, the party’s Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra, former Chief Minister Biren Singh, Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, state BJP President Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi, and other dignitaries.
The Centre withdrew President’s Rule from Manipur, allowing the Yumnam Khemchand Singh-led NDA government to take charge. Manipur had been under President’s Rule since February 13 last year, following the resignation of then-Chief Minister N. Biren Singh amid ethnic violence. The Manipur Assembly, with a tenure until 2027, has 60 members.
