The Assembly session, summoned by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, is scheduled to begin at 4 pm, a day after Yumnam Khemchand Singh took oath as the new Chief Minister. Even as the government prepares to outline its agenda, opposition from Kuki groups has intensified, signalling continued unrest in the state.
On Wednesday evening, members of the Kuki-Zo community staged a protest outside Manipur Bhawan in New Delhi, objecting to the formation of the new government. In Manipur, the Joint Forum of Seven (JF7) announced a 12-hour bandh from 6 am to 6 pm on Friday across Kuki-dominated districts.
The Kuki-Zo Council issued a strong statement warning legislators from the community against joining the government. It said the organisation would not be responsible for the actions of any Kuki MLA who defies the collective decision of the community by participating in the ruling dispensation.
Protests escalated following the appointment of Nemcha Kipgen as Deputy Chief Minister. On Wednesday night, demonstrators blocked roads and set tyres ablaze near Leimakhong in Kangpokpi district, a Kuki-majority area. Kipgen, a BJP legislator from Kangpokpi, has previously served as minister for social welfare, cooperation, commerce, industry and textiles in the former Biren Singh government. During the ethnic violence that erupted in May 2023, her official residence in Imphal was set on fire. She is also among the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs who have demanded a separate administrative arrangement for the hill areas.
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, a BJP MLA from Singjamei in Imphal West, is viewed as a comparatively moderate leader. A former Speaker of the Assembly and minister in the previous government, Singh belongs to the Meitei community but has sought to project a conciliatory approach. In December 2025, he became the first Meitei leader to visit Kuki-majority areas and relief camps after the outbreak of violence, and has since been involved in peace-building efforts.
The current unrest is rooted in long-standing ethnic tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities. These include the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe status, Kuki demands for a separate administration, and allegations of drug trafficking levelled against sections of the Kuki community, which they deny and describe as discriminatory.
As the Assembly convenes amid protests and a bandh call, the new government faces the immediate challenge of restoring trust and stability in a state still grappling with deep ethnic divisions.
