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The ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities that has been the order of the day in Manipur since May 2023 finally ended on February 4, 2026. The northeastern state of India reinstated elected governance after almost a year of President’s Rule, which had been imposed on February 13, 2025, after the resignation of the then-Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh, after rampant unrest and political paralysis.

This turned around when the NDA legislature party elected BJP MLA Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its leader. Singh was sworn in as the 13th Chief Minister of Manipur hours after the Presidential Rule had been revoked by the Ministry of Home Affairs (immediately, by a presidential proclamation signed by President Droupadi Murmu). The Imphal (also known legally and interchangeably as Raj Bhavan) swore in his office and secrecy by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla in a solemn ceremony in Lok Bhavan.

The incident was to celebrate a calculated ethnic balancing in a highly polarized state. A 61-62-year-old former speaker and by some measure a consensus, non-polarizing BJP, and being a consensus candidate, Singh has been joined by two deputy chief ministers representing the major communities: Nemcha Kipgen (BJP, representing the Kuki-Zo community), with the oath being administered virtually at New Delhi/Manipur Bhavan, becoming the first woman deputy CM of her community in the state; and Losii Dikho (Naga People’s Front). Another major inductive person was the Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the new team on X, saying he was confident that they would bring development and prosperity. In his initial address, Singh has highlighted the unity among the 36 communities of Manipur, and he has given an assurance to the people of his region to respect the faith that the people put in him by the hands of Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. He demanded peace, reconciliation, and mutual efforts to bring normalcy and said that reconciliation and outreach would be the new government priorities.

The setting is also problematic. Thousands were displaced, the resources were scarred, and deep scars were left by the ethnic clashes. Kuki civil societies such as the Kuki-Zo Council have also been against Kuki MLAs joining the government with threats of repercussions. However, the attendance of Kuki-Zo MLAs such as LM Khaute and Ngursanglur Sanate at the ceremony, some of whom had been away in Imphal for more than 2 years, was a positive sign of inclusion beginning to take place.

The NDA has a claim with the assistance of the alliance partners such as NPP, NPF, JD(U), and independents, which they claimed earlier that day. Singh conducted his first cabinet meeting after taking the oath, meaning that governance would resume soon. We are soon likely to have an assembly session.

This shift brings an end to a long period of a central administration, and democracy is returned to the constitution. Although violence has somewhat been abating, the new leadership has an uphill task of repairing divisions, securing the state and inclusive development in a state that has suffered a long history of conflict.