Nemcha Kipgen

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Nemcha Kipgen
Nemcha Kipgen Deputy Chief Minister.jpg
Official portrait, 2026
Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 February 2026
Servingwith Losii Dikho
SpouseS. T. Thangboi Kipgen
Children2
Residence
Occupation
  • Politician
  • social worker

Nemcha Kipgen (born 1 November 1965) is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party serving as Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur alongside Losii Dikho since 2026. Kipgen has been a member of the Manipur Legislative Assembly from the Kangpokpi constituency since 2017. She was the Minister for Social Welfare and Cooperation during 2017–2020 in First Biren Singh ministry. She was the Cabinet Minister for Textile, Commerce and Industry in Second Biren Singh ministry. [1] On February 4 2026 Nemcha Kipgen as Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur along with Losii Dikho the Legislative Party Leader of Naga People's Front who was also appointed as Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur .

Contents

Family

Nemcha Kipgen is a niece of four-time legislator Thangminlen Kipgen. [2] She is married to S.T. Thangboi Kipgen, the chairman of the Kuki National Front (President), a militant group that has been under a Suspension of Operations agreement with the Government of India since 2008. [3]

Political career

Nemcha Kipgen contested and won the legislative assembly seat from the Kangpokpi constituency in 2012, on a ticket of Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP). [4] She came up from the ranks of the Sadar Hills District Demand movement of the Kuki people, which was mainly organised by the women activists of the area. [5] MSCP, originally an off-shoot of Indian National Congress, merged back into Congress in 2014 along with its 5 legislators. [6] Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called for the disqualification of the legislators, but did not succeed. [7]

During the 2015 protests against the controversial "anti-tribal bills" passed by the state legislature, Nemcha Kipgen's house was set ablaze by protesters along with several other legislators and ministers. [8] In 2016, Kipgen was appointed as the chairperson of the state legislature's Committee on Welfare of Women and Children. [9] In January 2017, a few months before the next Assembly election, Kipgen resigned from Congress and joined the BJP. [10]

Kipgen retained her Kangpokpi seat in the 2017 election, beating her nearest rival by close to 2,300 votes. [11] She seconded the nomination of N. Biren Singh for the leader of the BJP legislative party, [12] leading his elevation to the Chief Minister. Kipgen was chosen as the Minister for Social Welfare and Cooperation in Biren Singh ministry. [13] She served in this post till 2020, when she was dropped during a Cabinet reshuffle. The women supporters of Kipgen in Kangpokpi protested the action, and burnt an effigy of Biren Singh. [14]

In the 2022 Assembly election, Nemcha Kipgen again won the seat from Kangpokpi, beating her nearest rival by close to 5,400 votes. [15] She was sworn in as a Cabinet minister along with Chief Minister Biren Singh. [16] She was allocated the portfolios Commerce and Industry, Textiles and Cooperation in the ministry. [17]

On 4 February 2026, Kipgen was appinted as the Deputy Chief minister of Manipur under Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh. [18]

References

  1. ↑ "Manipur's Commerce & Industry Minister - Nemcha Kipgen Urges Union Minister To Develop Food Processing Industries". Northeast Today. 7 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "BJP member Thangminlen Kipgen shows support to MLA Nemcha Kipgen", Imphal Free Press, 6 February 2022. ProQuest   2627323436
  3. ↑ "Objectives Achieved?": Manipur Congress MP On Ceasefire With Kuki-Zo Militants, NDTV News, 20 April 2025.
  4. ↑ "Congress secures absolute majority with 42 seats", Imphal Free Press, 7 May 2012. ProQuest   926449921
  5. ↑ Esha Roy, The election no one watches, The Indian Express, 14 January 2012. ProQuest   916350836
  6. ↑ "MSCP MLAs formally join Congress", Imphal Free Press, 7 April 2014. ProQuest   1513199643
  7. ↑ "BJP call to disqualify ex-MSCP legislators", Imphal Free Press, 14 June 2015. ProQuest   2289088844
  8. ↑ "Police controls mob out to set ablaze IFC minister's residence", Imphal Free Press, 3 September 2015. ProQuest   1709149461
  9. ↑ "Speaker nominates chairpersons", Imphal Free Press, 29 September 2016. ProQuest   1824052378
  10. ↑ "Kim, Nemcha, Valte join BJP", Imphal Free Press, 26 January 2017. ProQuest   1862026243
  11. ↑ "Will make K'pi a model district: Nemcha Kipgen", Imphal Free Press, 12 March 2017. ProQuest   1876096052
  12. ↑ Khelen Thokchom, "BJP, Cong stake claim in Manipur - Biren elected, Ibobi resigns", The Telegraph (India), 13 March 2017. ProQuest   2290242930
  13. ↑ "CM distributes portfolios to ministers", United News of India, 24 March 2017. ProQuest   1880327507
  14. ↑ Manipur CM inducts 5 new ministers, drops 6 in cabinet reshuffle, Hindustan Times, 24 September 2020. ProQuest   2445595361
  15. ↑ "BJP secures majority in Manipur, reduces other parties including Congress to single digits", Asian News International, 10 March 2022. ProQuest   2637624821
  16. ↑ N Biren Singh takes oath as Manipur chief minister for second consecutive term, Hindustan Times, 21 March 2022. ProQuest   2640975598
  17. ↑ "Portfolios allotted to new cabinet ministers, CM Biren keeps Home, Finance", Imphal Free Press, 26 March 2022. ProQuest   2643683611
  18. ↑ "Yumnam Khemchand Singh Takes Oath As Manipur Chief Minister After President's Rule Ends". News18 . 4 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
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