N Biren Singh sworn in as Manipur’s first BJP chief minister

N Biren Singh, a footballer who moved into politics, was sworn in on Wednesday as the first chief minister of Manipur from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He became the party’s third chief minister in the Northeast, after Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The ceremony

Governor Najma Heptulla administered the oath at Raj Bhavan. The outgoing chief minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, gave his blessings to Biren, who had once been one of his close aides. T N Haokip, the state Congress president, was also present.

Senior BJP figures at the event included Prakash Javadekar, the Union HRD minister; Piyush Goyal, who held the power portfolio; Sarbananda Sonowal, the Assam chief minister; and Ram Madhav, a general secretary of the party. BJP president Amit Shah missed the ceremony because of a technical fault in the aircraft he had boarded; he called Biren to congratulate him.

A ministry built on allies

Eight ministers took oath alongside the chief minister, and seven of them came from the BJP’s partners:

• four from the National People’s Party (NPP);
• one from the Naga People’s Front (NPF);
• one from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

What happened next

In the 2017 Manipur election the Congress had won 28 seats and the BJP 21, with the Naga People’s Front and the National People’s Party taking 4 each. N. Biren Singh remained chief minister after the 2022 election too, when the BJP won 32 seats.

See also: Political leaders

Originally published on 16 March 2017. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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