Who is Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki leader likely to be Deputy CM of Manipur

Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki-Zo MLA, is likely to be the next Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur. She will be the first woman and the first person from the Kuki-Zo community to hold such a high-ranking position in the state.

Kipgen represents the Kangpokpi Assembly constituency and previously helmed several ministries in the state government.

According to a report in PTI, there is a proposal to appoint a Naga MLA as another deputy CM, but there has been no formal statement on this yet.
Meanwhile, Yumnam Khemchand Singh was elected as Manipur Legislative Party leader by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a meeting held at the party’s headquarters in Delhi. Singh is likely to be sworn in as the next chief minister of the state.

Who is Nemcha Kipgen?

Nemcha Kipgen is a prominent politician and a senior leader of the BJP in Manipur. She has been a member of the Manipur Legislative Assembly from the Kangpokpi constituency since 2012.

She served as Minister of Social Welfare and Cooperation in former CM Biren Singh’s first ministry (2017-2020). Later, she also served as the Cabinet Minister in charge of Commerce and Industry, Textiles, and Cooperation.

Kipgen, a member of the Kuki community, a tribal group in Manipur, is actively involved in community events and programs focused at empowering the youth in her area. She is married to ST Thangboi Kipgen, chairman of the Kuki National Front.

Kipgen is the niece of four-time legislator Thangminlen Kipgen and is married. In the recent 2022 Assembly election, she won the seat from Kangpokpi, beating her nearest rival by over 5,000 votes.

Formation of the government in Manipur

The BJP has officially begun the process of forming a government in Manipur, designating Tarun Chugh, its national general secretary, as the central observer to monitor developments.

Several prominent BJP leaders from the state, including MLAs, travelled to Delhi for a high-level meeting with the party’s national leadership, just days before the second term of the President’s rule in Manipur comes to an end.

Manipur has been under the President’s rule since February 13, 2025, after ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities. In August 2025, the central government extended the rule for another six months.