Four days after N Biren Singh stepped down as Manipur’s Chief Minister, the central government imposed the President’s rule in the state and suspended the legislative assembly. This marks the end of one phase and the beginning of another in Manipur, which has been grappling with ethnic violence since May 2023.

President Droupadi Murmu’s decision came shortly after both Houses of Parliament adjourned to reconvene on March 10 for the rest of the Budget session. The move comes based on a report from Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

Ahead of the announcement, security agencies put a plan in place, with the state police and intelligence teams closely monitoring specific individuals' movements to prevent unrest.

The BJP-led government in Manipur officially collapsed on February 9, when Biren Singh resigned as Chief Minister. He resigned soon after returning to Imphal from New Delhi, where he met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda.

After accepting Singh’s resignation, the Governor cancelled the Assembly session by declaring the earlier order that had summoned the House on February 10 as “null and void.”

During the Assembly session, Congress warned that it might bring a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and his government.

Manipur's Legislative Assembly has 60 seats, but with the recent death of NPP MLA N. Kayisii, the current strength stands at 59. The following state elections are scheduled for 2027.

Among the 59 legislators, the BJP holds a majority with 37 MLAs. The rest include six from the NPP, five from the NPF and Congress, two from the Kuki People’s Alliance (KPA), one from the JDU, and three independents. Although the NPP and KPA had officially withdrawn their support from the government following recent violence, at least two NPP MLAs continued backing Biren Singh despite their party’s decision.

On Thursday evening, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan announced that the President had received a report from the Governor, “And after considering the report and other information received by me, I (the President) am satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the Government of that State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India”.

According to the notification, “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 356 of the Constitution, and of all other powers enabling me in that behalf, I hereby proclaim that I assume to myself as President of India all functions of the Government of Manipur and all powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor of that State, and declare that the powers of the legislature of the said State will be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament.”

The central government has imposed President’s Rule in Manipur after three days of meetings in Imphal, led by BJP’s Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra. The discussions involved BJP MLAs and their allies, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and the National People’s Party (NPP), in an attempt to agree on a new Chief Minister to replace Biren Singh.

Earlier, The Indian Express had reported that if the BJP failed to reach a consensus, the Centre might impose President’s Rule. One BJP MLA had also indicated that some leaders supported this move to facilitate a large-scale crackdown on armed groups operating in the state's hill and valley regions.

In the 60-member Manipur Assembly, the BJP holds 37 seats, while its allies, the NPF and NPP, have six and seven MLAs, respectively. Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has been vocal against imposing the President’s Rule.

K. Meghachandra Singh, the congress president, remarked, “They have realised that there was a completely failed state under N Biren Singh and that the state was completely destroyed in the past 20 months. The Constitution and the people’s mandate is not being respected.”

The Kuki-Zo groups, demanding the President's rule in the state, said they accepted the move.

Ginza Vualzong, the spokesperson for the ITLF, a Kuki-Zo group from Churachandpur, stated, “The President’s Rule is more preferable than a change of CM. The Kuki-Zo do not trust Meitei anymore, so a new Meitei CM is still far from comforting. President’s Rule will give a ray of hope to the Kuki-Zo, and we believe that it will be one step closer to our political solution. With the President’s Rule, I believe the groundwork to end violence will begin, which will pave the way for a conducive environment for political dialogue.”