Nongthombam Biren Singh (Meitei pronunciation: /nōng-thōm-bam bī-ren sīng/; born 1 January 1961)[3] is an Indian politician, former footballer and journalist who is currently serving as the 12th Chief Minister of Manipur since 2017 representing Heingang Assembly constituency in the Manipur Legislative Assembly since 2002 as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Besides being the chairman of Shri Shri Govindaji Temple Board,[4][5] he is the first incumbent Chief Minister who serves as the president of the Lainingthou Sanamahi Temple Board (LSTB), the temple development board of Lainingthou Sanamahi of the Sanamahi religion since 2021.[1][2]
"Nongthombam Biren Singh" redirects here. For the writer of Meitei literature Nongthombam Shri Biren Singh, see
Shri Biren.
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N. Biren Singh was awarded Champions of Change in 2018 for his exceptional work to the nation. The award was conferred by the Vice-President of India Sri. Venkaiah Naidu at Vigyan Bhavan New Delhi.[6][7][8]
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.[9] In 2022 he once again retained his seat from Heingang. He has won the Heingang assembly constituency since 2002. Under Mr. Singh’s leadership that the BJP not only increased its seat share in the Manipur Assembly, from 21 (in 2017) to 32 (in 2022), but had also managed to weather several storms while running the government in the last five years.[10]
Bharatiya Janata Party
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.[20] He is the first-ever BJP Chief Minister in Manipur.
In January 2018, he laid 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.[21][22]
On 20 April 2018, Singh launched the First State-Level Ginger Festival[23] at Parbung in Pherzawl District. The festival will remain one of Singh's legacies in the promotion of agriculture in the hill district which is one of the most backward in the state. Farmers have reported that since 2018 they are able to sell their organic ginger throughout the year.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in India, Manipur became the third State to declare itself coronavirus free after the two patients who had tested positive successfully recovered from the virus.[24][25]
On 17 June 2020, 9 MLAs supporting the N. Biren Singh led government in Manipur revolted against him and withdrew support from his government blaming him for lack of action during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the vote of confidence, he was one of the eight MLAs who had skipped the assembly proceedings defying the party whip for the trust vote. All members resigned from Indian National Congress and later joined Bharatiya Janata Party in presence of Ram Madhav, Baijayant Panda and Chief Minister of Manipur Biren Singh.[26][27][28][29]
In January 2017, his son N Ajay was sentenced to a five-year jail term for the murder of Irom Roger after a traffic related altercation during Holi in 2011.[30]
During the 2022 Manipur Election, the Manipur Congress spokesperson Devabrata Singh said that "Biren Singh is acting like a dictator. All his critics have been sidelined."[31]
Journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem was arrested on charges of sedition in November 21, 2018 for calling the state's BJP Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, a puppet of the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[32]