New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended birthday greetings to Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Sunday, calling him an experienced leader committed to furthering good governance in the state.
Yumnam Khemchand Singh was born on March 1, 1963, in Manipur. He has been serving as the Chief Minister of Manipur since February 4, following the revocation of President’s rule.
In a post on X, PM Modi said, “Birthday wishes to Manipur Chief Minister, Shri Yumnam Khemchand Singh Ji. He is an experienced leader who is at the forefront of furthering prosperity and good governance for Manipur. May he lead a long and healthy life in the service of the people.”
Yumnam Khemchand Singh, a sportsman-turned-politician and founder of the Assam Taekwondo Association in the neighbouring state, earlier served as the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly.
During his ministerial career, he held several key portfolios, including Municipal Administration and Housing Development (MAHUD), Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and Education.
A member of the majority Meitei community, Singh served as Speaker of the Manipur Assembly from 2017 to 2022 and was elected twice from the Singjamei constituency in Imphal West district as a BJP candidate in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections.
He was appointed a Cabinet Minister in the second N. Biren Singh-led ministry following the BJP’s second consecutive victory in the 2022 Manipur Assembly elections.
Singh served as a minister from March 20, 2022, until the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur on February 13, 2025. Known within the BJP as a grassroots organiser with strong organisational credentials, Singh was engaged in business before entering active politics.
He is also a long-time Taekwondo practitioner, having begun training in his youth.
Recently, he was awarded the prestigious 5th-Dan Black Belt in traditional Taekwondo by the Global Traditional Taekwondo Federation, Seoul, South Korea — an advanced rank signifying decades of discipline and mastery.
He is a former Vice President of the Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) and was closely associated with the early institutional development of the sport in India’s Northeast.
Considered a non-polarising figure, Singh is widely viewed as acceptable across internal party factions during a period of political transition in Manipur.
