Manipur set to get a new CM: Who is Yumnam Khemchand Singh?

In a sign of restoration of normalcy in the North-Eastern state of Manipur, on Tuesday (February 3, 2026), Yumnam Khemchand Singh, was elected as the Legislative Party Leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a move seen by many as the first move towards peace in the conflict-hit State, which has been under President’s rule for nearly a year.

Also Read | What led to President’s rule in the strife-hit Manipur? The story so far

 Mr. Singh is set to be the 13th Chief Minister of Manipur. 

The Manipur BJP in a post on social media platform X said, “Heartiest congratulations to Hon’ble Shri @YKhemchandSingh on being elected as the BJP Legislature Party Leader of Manipur. On behalf of BJP Manipur Pradesh, we wish you great success. Your experience, dedication, and leadership will further strengthen the party and serve the aspirations of the people of Manipur.”

Mr. Singh thanked the leadership in a similar post shortly afterwards.

Who is Yumnam Khemchand Singh?

Mr. Singh is a prominent face in Manipur politics and belongs to the Meitei community. He entered politics in the early 2000s as part of the Democratic Revolutionary People’s Party (DRPP) with former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.

 In 2013, he formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In March 2017, Mr. Singh was elected as the MLA for the Singjamei constituency and later elected as the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly. 

In March 2022, a few years after serving as Speaker, he was appointed as a Cabinet Minister, holding portfolios for Education and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. 

Bridge among communities?

Despite belonging to one of the conflict-hit communities, Mr. Singh has been credited for trying to build bridges with the Kuki-Zo communities by visiting strife-hit villages like Churachandpur in December 2025, in an effort to initiate dialogues.

Controversies

Mr. Singh’s term as Speaker was hit by controversy in 2017, when seven Congress MLAs supported the BJP-led government without formally resigning from their party

Mr. Singh was tasked with handing disqualification notices to the MLAs for defecting but was accused of “dragging his feet” for close to three years.

In 2020, a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court stripped a cabinet minister — Th. Shyamkumar of his post because the Speaker had allegedly failed to act on his duties.

In June 2020, Mr Singh as Speaker issued multiple disqualification notices to MLAs and restricted the entry of several of them into the House. This led to accusations of him being partisan and not fully fulfilling the duties of his office.

What will his appointment mean for Manipur? 

His appointment as the Legislative Party Leader and eventually Chief Minister is signalling towards an elected-government in Manipur, a state that has been seeing ethnic violence since 2023 between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities. The violence has claimed the lives of more than 250 people and left over 60,000 displaced.