Six Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs Attend Assembly Virtually; CM Hails Step Towards Normalisation

PTI, March 9, 2026, Imphal : Six Manipur MLAs from the Kuki-Zo-Hmar community attended the assembly session virtually, a move Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh praised as a positive step towards normalising the situation in the ethnic violence-affected state. Their participation, despite previous calls for a separate administration after the May 2023 violence, is being seen as a “good beginning” for reconciliation.

Following the outbreak of violence in May 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribes, ten legislators had called for a separate administration for the three related communities and had declined to join the government under the then CM Biren Singh. The conflict had physically separated the Meiteis of the valley districts from the Kukis in the surrounding hill districts, with members of both communities avoiding travel through each other’s areas.

Six of the nine Kuki-Zo-Hmar legislators attended the budget session virtually, visible on a TV screen inside the House. Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh said: “Attendance of the assembly session by the Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs is a positive step towards the normalisation of the current situation in the state. This is a good beginning, and everyone should encourage it.”

Of the ten Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs, BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte passed away in February at a hospital in Gurugram. He had sustained serious injuries during a mob attack in Imphal in the early days of ethnic violence in 2023.

Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh also welcomed the attendance of the MLAs from the Kuki-Zo-Hmar community, noting that during the chief minister’s trust vote on February 5, three Kuki-Zo-Hmar legislators — Nemcha Kipgen, L M Khaute, and Ngursanglur Sanate — had participated through video conference. MLA Letpao Haokip was granted leave during the budget session due to illness.

The Kuki-Zo-Hmar community is represented by nine MLAs: six from the BJP, two from the Kuki Peoples’ Alliance, and one independent. The six MLAs who attended on Monday were Nemcha Kipgen, L M Khaute (BJP), Letzamang Haokip (BJP), Ngursanglur Sanate (BJP), Kimneo Haokip Hansing (KPA), and Haokholet Kipgen (BJP).

Official sources said elaborate arrangements were made for the MLAs to participate through video conferencing, with preparations at NIC Kangpokpi, NIC Churachandpur, and Manipur Bhawans in Guwahati and New Delhi.

After Biren Singh’s resignation in February 2025, President’s Rule was imposed in the state and revoked on February 4, 2026, when a popular government led by Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh was formed. Kuki-Zo-Hmar legislators have since begun participating in government events. BJP MLA Nemcha Kipgen, also sworn in as deputy chief minister, received the portfolios for rural and panchayati raj development, along with hill and tribal affairs.

Mar 9, 2026

With the efforts by the new Manipur government in the past month making little headway to restore free movement of people belonging to the Meitei and the Kuki communities, six Kuki kasubi MLAs, including Deputy CM Nemcha Kipgen, on Monday virtually ...

The session began on Monday and will conclude on March 17.

The number of Kuki kasubi MLAs in Manipur decreased to nine with the death of Vungzagin Valte on February 21. Valte, who represented Thanlon Assembly constituency, was severely injured by the Meiteis in Imphal on May 4, 2023, a day after the Meitei-Kuki conflict had erupted.

Nemcha Kipgen on February 4 had virtually taken oath from New Delhi, when Yumnam Khemchand Singh was appointed as the CM after nearly a year-long President's Rule. Since then, Kipgen and other Kuki MLAs, however, have not been able to visit Manipur, fearing the anger of the organisations representing the communities.

Three other Kuki MLAs, however, refused to support the government and still endorsed the demand for a Union Territory for the Kukis. On February 5, Nemcha Kipgen, L M Khaute, and Ngusanglur Sanate had taken part in the confidence motion of the new government.

An official statement issued on Monday evening said a TV screen inside the floor of the assembly displayed the attendance of the six MLAs in virtual mode.

The Kuki MLAs, who attended the first day of the session, included Nemcha Kipgen, LM Khaute (Churachandpur-ST), Letzamang Haokip (Henglep), Ngursanglur Sanate (Tipaimukh-ST), Kimneo Haokip Hansing (Saikul-ST), and Haokholet Kipgen (Saitu-ST). LM Khaute even participated in the debate for an obituary reference during the session, it said.