Thokchom Satyabrata Singh elected as new Manipur assembly Speaker

IMPHAL: Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, 48, was on Thursday elected unanimously as the Manipur assembly Speaker as the first session of the House after the elections began.

Singh was a minister in the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government in the state. He was re-elected from the Yaiskul seat on the BJP ticket and defeated his nearest National People’s Party rival H Vikram by 632 votes. Singh, who holds a master’s degree in science, was elected for the first time as the assembly member from Yaiskul in 2017.

On Monday, N Biren Singh was sworn in as the chief minister of the state for the second consecutive term along with five other cabinet ministers. Six more ministers can be inducted into the council of ministers.

Civil society organisations in the Ukhrul district, which has given two chief ministers to the state, have demanded a ministerial berth for one of the three assembly members from the region. The BJP returned to power in the state this month.