N. Biren Singh

Nongthombam Biren Singh
12th Chief Minister of Manipur
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 March 2017
Governor	Najma Heptullah
Preceded by	Okram Ibobi Singh
Personal details
Born	(1961-01-01) 1 January 1961 Imphal East, Manipur, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Hiyainu Devi
Children	3
Alma mater	Manipur University
Military service
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Border Security Force
Years of service	1979–1993

Nongthombam Biren Singh (born 1 January 1961)^[1] is an Indian politician and former footballer and journalist. He is the current Chief Minister of Manipur.^[2]

He began his career as a footballer and got recruited in the Border Security Force (BSF) playing for its team in domestic competitions. He resigned from the BSF and turned to journalism. Despite having had no formal training and experience, he began the vernacular daily Naharolgi Thoudang in 1992 and worked as the editor till 2001.^[1]

Turning to politics in 2002, Singh joined the Democratic Revolutionary Peoples Party and won the assembly elections from Heingang. He retained the seat in 2007 contesting with an Indian National Congress ticket after joining the party in 2003. Serving as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, he quit the party in 2016 before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2017, he retained his seat from Heingang again and was named the Chief Minister after his party gained Coalition and formed the government.^[3]

Political career

In 2002, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manipur, as the Democratic Revolutionary Peoples Party (DRPP) candidate in the constituency Heingang. He later joined the Indian National Congress (INC).^[4]

In May 2003 he was appointed Minister of State of Vigilance in the Manipur state government.^[5]

In 2007 he retained his Assembly seat, contesting on behalf of the Indian National Congress (INC).^[6] He was later appointed as the Minister of Irrigation & Flood Control and Youth Affairs & Sports in the State Government. In 2012 he again retained his Assembly seat for the third consecutive term.

In September 2015, Biren stated that the recently passed bill in the Manipur Legislative Assembly to protect indigenous peoples would not harm any community in the state.^[7]

In October 2016, Biren resigned from the Manipur Legislative Assembly and the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), this came after revolt against Okram Ibobi Singh, the then Chief Minister of Manipur.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Singh formally joined the BJP on 17 October 2016 and later became the Spokesperson and Co-convener of the Election Management Committee of BJP Manipur Pradesh. He won the 2017 Manipur Legislative Assembly Election from Heingang Assembly Constituency.

In March 2017, he was elected as leader of the BJP Legislature Party in Manipur and with a majority of MLAs having been presented to the Governor, he was sworn in as Chief Minister of Manipur on 15 March 2017.^[12] He is the first ever BJP Chief Minister in Manipur.

In January 2018, he lays the foundation stone for the new academic building of Manipur Public School.The project is undertaken by Manipur Minorities and OBC Economic Development Society (MOBEDS). The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 10.80 crore under the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs and will include new classrooms, headmaster’s room, common rooms, library, laboratories, toilets and separate hostels for boys and girls.^[13]

See also

• N. Biren Singh ministry

References