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New Delhi: The Churachandpur agitations in Manipur, soon after a new chief minister and his two deputies were appointed, clearly reflect that the resentment on the ground is far from over. In a hurried oath-taking ceremony and a subsequent confidence vote, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership chose Yumnam Khemchand Singh, a Meitei, to take over the reins in the conflict-torn Manipur, nearly a year after the Union government imposed President’s Rule in the state. Former chief minister N.Biren Singh had resigned in February 2025 as his ability to contain escalating ethnic conflicts was put under scrutiny. 

Almost a year later, the BJP has resorted yet again to its now-known political formula of socially representing leaders from different communities in political positions as an ostensible measure to placate their discontent. Singh belongs to the Meitei community, while the two deputy chief ministers Nemcha Kipgen and Losii Dikho represent the Kuki-Zo and Naga tribes, respectively. Kipgen’s appointment was projected by the Union government as a progressive step in the direction of peace in the conflict-torn state, while she was also celebrated as the first woman deputy chief minister of state. 

However, the BJP’s bet appears to have backfired and could mark an escalation of the conflict, as the agitations in Churachandpur and New Delhi indicate. The Kuki-Zo Council, which had pledged earlier that there can’t be any political resolution if the hilly regions populated by the community is not granted autonomy, have unanimously rejected Kipgen’s leadership and has demanded her resignation. 

Ginza Vualzong, a spokesperson of the Kuki-Zo Council, while speaking with The Print, did not mince words. “Ever since Pi Nemcha........

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