Yumnam Khemchand Singh

Yumnam Khemchand Singh is a Bharatiya Janata Party politician from Manipur, India. He has been elected in Manipur Legislative Assembly election in 2017 and 2022 from Singjamei constituency as a BJP candidate. He was the Speaker of Manipur Legislative Assembly (2017–2022).^[1][2][3][4] In 2022, he was appointed as a Cabinet Minister in Second Biren Singh ministry holding the portfolios of Municipal Administration, Housing Development (MAHUD) department, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and the Education department.^[5] He served in this position till February 2025 when President's Rule was declared in Manipur.

In the 2017 Manipur Legislative Assembly election, the BJP won 21 seats against INC's 28 seats. However, BJP was able to form the government with the support of other parties (NPP, NPF and others). In addition, as many eight INC legislators supported the BJP government, defying the anti-defection law. Their anti-defection cases cases were kept pending by speaker Khemchand. One of them, Cabinet minister Shyamkumar, was disqualified in March 2020 following a Supreme Court order. Four of the remaining seven legislators are said to have returned the Congress fold, with three others remaining with the ruling BJP. On the eve of the election of a Rajya Sabha member for Manipur, the High Court of Manipur restrained the seven legislators from entering the Assembly until the speaker took a decision on their status. Khemchand then decided to disqualify the four members that returned to Congress fold, and allow the three legislators that stayed with the BJP. This action allowed the BJP to get its candidate, Leishemba Sanajaoba, elected to the Rajya Sabha.^[6]

After the 2022 Legislative Assembly election, in which BJP won 32 seats (representing a majority), Thongam Bishwajit Singh, who was the first BJP legislator in the state of Manipur, contended for the chief minister (CM) post. If the contest between him and the incumbent CM Biren Singh could not resolved, it was mentioned that Khemchand Singh might be chosen as the CM. It was mentioned that Khemchand had the backing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological partner of BJP. However, Biren Singh prevailed and became the CM.^[7][8] Khemchand was sworn in as a cabinet minister along with Biren Singh, and he was given three ministries as his portfolio: Municipal Administration and Housing Development (MAHUD), Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and Education.^[5]

After the onset of the 2023 Manipur violence in May, the Union government summoned Manipur's cabinet ministers including Khemchand Singh to Delhi and asked them to bring back normalcy as a highest priority.^[9] At the end of the month, the Peace and Relief Committee Singjamei Assembly Constituency stormed Khemchand's house and submitted a memorandum with hawkish demands.^[10] In October, unidentified miscreants lobbed a grenade at the gate of his residence, injuring a CRPF personnel and a kinswoman of the minister.^[11][12] In June 2024, the women's wing of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) stormed his house asking him to make his stand clear on the prevailing situation of the state. Khemchand reportedly replied by asking for dialogue between the warring groups.^[13]