(Each week, the National Political Bureau of The Indian Express examines a political party and a leader, tracking their moves and explaining why they matter.)
On February 5, 2025, then Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh, facing a firestorm in the wake of the ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in the state that began in May 2023, made a desperate dash to Delhi. There was growing rebellion within the state BJP unit against his leadership even as a no-confidence motion against his government loomed large.
Biren cut a sorry figure as the BJP central leadership did not give him time for a meeting. He then went to Prayagraj to take a dip at the Mahakumbh. Four days later, when the BJP leadership finally gave him an audience, he had to resign.
One year down the line, things appear to look worse for Biren, with his bete noire in the BJP, Yumnam Khemchand Singh, taking over as the new CM just a year ahead of the state Assembly polls.
However, Biren, once a footballer, does not seem to have lost hope. After losing his chair and then a significant part of his security detail in the one year that followed his resignation and imposition of the President’s Rule in the state, the 65-year-old Meitei strongman has been in a campaign mode.
“While he (Biren) was disappointed at being made to resign, he did not sit back sulking. He straightaway went into election mode,” said a source close to the ex-CM. “He began meeting members of local clubs (which exercise considerable influence among respective communities) and civil society organisations across the Imphal Valley. He extensively engaged with people, across various sections of the society in the Valley, with an eye on the 2027 Assembly polls.”
His outreach in the Valley was interspersed with his official engagements such as meeting Governor Ajay Bhalla in May 2025 and underlining Meitei concerns in the Gwaltabi incident – when protests erupted in the Valley over removal of the word “Manipur” from a Manipur State Transport Bus going to the hills – and consistently raising his pet concerns such as poppy cultivation in the hills, identification of illegal immigrants, and free movement regime.
Biren’s critics in the BJP say he undermined his prospects by overtly batting only for the Meitei cause in a bid to consolidate his position among his support base. “If as the CM he was accused by Kuki groups of being partisan, even after his resignation his overtures to various communities have been limited to those in the Valley. In contrast, Khemchand has kept a line open with Kukis and even visited a Kuki IDP (internally displaced people) camp in December. In a state with so much diversity and competing claims, broadbasing one’s engagement is an imperative,” a state BJP leader said.
Eased out of his post, Biren could also focus on his health. “One of the first things he did after his resignation was to get his arm operated at a private hospital in March 2025. It had been giving him trouble for the past two years but he could not find time to get its treated because of the situation in the state. He also hit the gym after a long gap,” said the source close to him.
Sources said Biren continued to enjoy the trust of Union Home Minister Amit Shah through this period. “Whenever there was any trouble in the Valley, the Home Minister would call Biren Singh and ask him to sort out things. So, the former CM was engaged in firefighting whenever required,” a state BJP leader said.
An aide of Biren said he was engaged by the BJP dispensation largely to manage sentiments in the Valley. “Manipur is a complex state. It has a population of 35 lakh people and there are 35 communities and every community wants an independent country. So it requires constant engagement,” his aide said.
He also faced a restive state party unit that was anxious about remaining out of power for long. In June 2025, under pressure from the BJP MLAs, he voiced their desire to form a popular government in the state. “We are hopeful that the party central leadership is evaluating the ground situation in Manipur. It has been over seven to eight months since any communal clashes have taken place. This indicates a gradual return of peace, which could pave the way for restoring an elected government,” Singh said at an event in Imphal, urging the party high command for a decision on the issue. This was a month before President’s Rule in the state was extended by another six months.
“It was not his desire he was articulating. Party MLAs were putting pressure on him. There was a fear that the Assembly itself could be dissolved. So, the MLAs wanted to have another shot at power,” said a BJP leader.
As the BJP high command set the ball rolling over government formation in Manipur just ahead of the completion of one year of the President’s Rule, when re-establishing an elected administration became a constitutional obligation, Biren visited Delhi along with 25 MLAs in October and camped here for a week. Following his return to Imphal, he told media persons that government formation was among the issues he discussed with the party leadership.
It was in many ways a show of strength — a soft signal that government formation in the state with a 60-member Assembly could not happen without seeking his cooperation, even if he was not going to be the CM. It is learnt he was eventually brought on board with the BJP leadership asking him to suggest two names for the CM’s post.
Yet, on February 3, when the Manipur BJP MLAs gathered at the party national headquarters in Delhi to elect their legislature party leader, some of them were not even ready to sit in the same room. It was only after the intervention of Shah that Yumnam Khemchand Singh was chosen. Sources said a consensus could be built over Khemnchand’s name after “certain political promises” were made to Biren, who was eventually fielded to announce Khemchand’s name as the new BJP legislature party leader.
While Biren’s confidant Govindas Konthoujam is now the state home minister, his road ahead appears to be full of uncertainties. Several legislators of his camp are said to be cosying up to the new CM in the hope of getting a ministerial berth.
“Govindas himself has political ambitions. No one knows which way the political tide will turn once you are out of power,” said a state BJP leader.
Biren could now only hope that the “promises” made to him are kept and that his faction is able to put up a good show in the 2027 Assembly polls.