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Following the resignation of Manipur CM N Biren Singh just a day ahead of the Assembly session, the name of Yumnam Khemchand Singh has cropped up to replace him as the next CM. Yumnam Khemchand Singh is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician from Manipur. He was elected as a candidate in the Manipur Legislative Assembly election in 2017 and 2022 from the Singjamei constituency and was the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly. Currently, he is a Cabinet Minister for Municipal Administration Housing Development (MAHUD) and Education Department in the Second Biren Singh Ministry.
Presently, the MLAs of the Manipur Assembly are in closed-door discussion to elect a new CM with Senior BJP leader Sambit Patra overseeing the matter. There are camps within the MLAs, sources have revealed, however, there has not been any rift or disunity among them.
Another name Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, Speaker of Manipur Assembly has also been doing the rounds. He has been elected from the Yaiskul constituency in 2017 and 2022. Previously served as State Cabinet Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Law & Legislative Affairs, and Labour & Employment.
However, sources close to the matter have highlighted that MLAs are in favour of Khemchand due to his image as a state-wide leader in Manipur with good connections with not just Meities but also with Nagas and other communities which will help establish the normalcy and peace in the state.
The bigger question will be who will the seven Kuki MLAs back? As per sources, the high command leadership of the BJP will have a meeting with BJP Kuki MLAs about their choice for the new CM. The Kuki MLAs had earlier called for the removal of N Biren Singh amid the violence in Manipur.
The BJP leadership is looking for a leader who will have the backing of all communities to bring about normalcy in the state that has seen tensions and conflicts for more than 21 months.
Meanwhile, the Kukis have reiterated that their demand for a separate administration will continue irrespective of the resignation of N Biren Singh. “Whether Biren Singh is CM or not, our demand for separate administration remains the same. We have been separated by the Meitei people, and there’s no going back. So much blood has been shed. Only a political solution can redeem us,” Ginza Vualzong, the spokesperson of Kuki Zo Council (KZC), an apex body of major Kuki-Zo organisations said, hours after Biren Singh submitted his resignation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
So, the bigger challenge for Khemchand or anyone who replaces Biren Singh will be to bring the confidence of the Kukis in the integration of Manipur.
