The National People’s Party’s (NPP) sweeping restructuring of its Manipur State Unit has sparked serious dissent, with senior leaders accusing the national leadership of bypassing long-serving state functionaries and making abrupt appointments without consultation. The notification issued on November 22 by NPP President Conrad K. Sangma appointed Dr. Lorho S. Pfoze as the new State President, along with Sheikh Noorul Hassan, Th. Shanti Singh and Janghemlung Panmei as Working Presidents — replacing the entire earlier team. Addressing a press conference in Imphal on Sunday, former Deputy Chief Minister Y. Joykumar Singh, who has long been the face of the NPP in Manipur, said the sudden shake-up has caused deep resentment among party workers. NPP earlier had six MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly, but after the death of one legislator, the party now has five sitting MLAs.
“Nobody expected such sweeping changes. Only recently, a team led by me interacted in Shillong on the 21st of last month. Discussions were held about forming a new political entity, possibly the Northeast People Party. We are not certain what precipitated this action,” Joykumar said. He added that the state team raised several pressing issues concerning Manipur at the Shillong meeting and that no representatives from the Manipur unit were included in the national press conference held in Delhi. Joykumar also said NPP has a long history in Manipur and, according to him, “originated from Manipur.” He further questioned the timing and choice of new leadership: “The new State President joined the party only recently, yet the entire team was abruptly removed. This has hurt the sentiments of the party workers in Manipur.”
Outgoing General Secretary Russel Heisham echoed similar concerns, saying: “The behaviour of the present national leadership is letting down the image of P.A. Sangma, the party’s founder. No responsibility has been given to us.” Joykumar said he, Russel and the entire earlier team of office bearers are seriously evaluating their future course of action, though they continue as members of the party for now. The internal discord surfaces at a critical juncture as the NPP reorganises its units across the Northeast ahead of expected political realignments in 2025.
