2027 Will Call You “Hon’ble Minister” or Just “That Former MLA” – A Choice That Will Define You Forever

The ten Kuki MLAs stand at the most decisive moment of their political lives. One road leads to ministerial berths, central funds, and survival in 2027. The other leads to the exile of irrelevance—or worse. Yet eight of you still refuse to sign a simple joint declaration rejecting any role in the present Manipur government. 

That silence is deafening, because everyone in the hills and the valley now knows the real conversations happening behind closed doors.Highly placed sources in Imphal and Delhi confirm what the relief camps have long suspected: some of you are already in deep, direct talks with valley-based MLAs—talks that go far beyond “consultations.”

These are negotiations about cabinet berths, portfolio allocations, and, most stunningly, even the selection of the next Chief Minister of Manipur. Yes, the same ten MLAs who once jointly demanded President’s Rule and vowed never to be part of any government under the present constitutional framework are now helping decide who will head that very government.

When the political choreography has reached this advanced stage, why the continued public silence? Why the coy dance of “clarifications” issued through two conveners while the real deals are sealed in five-star hotels and secure bungalows? 

There is only one honest answer: personal ambition has overtaken every other consideration. Let us speak the truth that no one in Churachandpur or Kangpokpi dares print openly. The armed groups that have publicly pronounced death sentences on any Kuki MLA who joins the government—UKNA yesterday, others tomorrow—are not the immovable obstacle they are made out to be. They are not above the elected government, they are now above the law.

Most of the major Kuki militant outfits (KNO, UPF, and almost all others who matter) remain under Suspension of Operations (SoO) with the Government of India. Their salaries, their camps, their very existence depend on the Ministry of Home Affairs. When the MHA and central leaders quietly convey that the ten MLAs must be brought on board for the sake of “peace and governance,” those same outfits will fall in line faster than anyone imagines. 

They always have.No one seriously believes that KNO or UPF cadres will open fire on ministers travelling in bullet-proof convoys escorted by central forces. The red beacon is the ultimate shield in northeast politics. Once the oath is taken, yesterday’s death threat becomes tomorrow’s guard of honour. That is the open secret every political player in Manipur understands—except, apparently, the displaced families being asked to believe that their MLAs are bravely defying both Delhi and the underground for the cause of Separate Administration.

The backing of the SoO groups and the MHA is already there for any Kuki MLA willing to take the plunge. Delhi wants a “popular government” at any cost; it does not want another spell of President’s Rule followed by elections that could reduce the BJP to single digits. The valley MLAs have magic number with or without kuki numbers (or at least Kuki neutrality). 

Everyone is ready. The table is set. The only missing element is your open acceptance.So the question is no longer about fear. It is about choice.Choose the cabinet berth today and you will have five, six, maybe eight months to flood your constituencies with central schemes, PMGSY roads, Recruitment drives, school buildings, and health-centre contracts. Anti-incumbency will soften.

Voters have short memories when their village finally gets electricity and a metalled road. You know this. That is why the talks with valley MLAs are happening at such breathless pace.Choose boycott without a united, rock-solid public stand and Delhi will do what it always does: import fresh, hungry faces untainted by the baggage of 2023–25.

Delhi does not wait forever. If the ten of you cannot decide, Delhi will decide for you. New candidates—clean-slate, hungry, obedient—are already being lined up. The BJP has done it in Bihar, Karnataka, and Delhi. It can do it in Henglep, Saikul, and Saitu tomorrow. When that happens, Chinlunthang’s clarity and Haokholet Kipgen’s courage will not save the other eight. No one is coming to campaign for you. No saviour is riding down from Teddim road to rescue your deposit.

New candidates with new money and new promises will be parachuted in. You will be yesterday’s men—branded neither martyrs nor ministers, just confused bystanders who satisfied no one. Paolienlal Haokip will not campaign to save Ngursanglur Sanate. LM Khaute will not shed a tear for Letpao Haokip. Vungzagin Valte will not lift a finger for Chinlunthang. Each of you will face the voter alone, and alone you will fall.

After 2027, how do you want to be remembered?As the Minister who brought development to a violence-torn constituency even while the demand for Separate Administration continued through constitutional and political channels?

Or as the ex-MLA who was too afraid of press releases to grasp the one chance to deliver tangible relief to thousands still eating half-cooked rice in relief camps?The mothers in the camps do not need another “joint clarification” typed by conveners. They need rations that arrive on time, children back in school, and a road that is not blocked by boulders and gunmen. 

Only ministers—or at the very least MLAs who attend the State Assembly and extract their pound of flesh—can deliver those things. Empty benches deliver nothing but hunger and humiliation.

You were elected by your people to represent them, not to outsource your voice to CSOs or SoO signatories. Your primary loyalty is to the voter who stood in line under threat to stamp your symbol—not to the boys with guns who never faced an election.

The central government and its agencies have already signalled, through channels that matter, that anyone who joins the ministry will be protected. The SoO groups will be told to stand down. The script is written. All that is required now is for the actors to step onto the stage instead of hiding behind the curtain issuing contradictory statements.

Manipur has seen genuine ministerial impact from its hill representatives. Nemcha Kipgen, as Minister for Textiles, Commerce & Industry and Cooperation successfully revived handloom clusters and promoted women-led micro-enterprises. Earlier, as Minister for Social Welfare & Cooperation, she focused on community development and equitable access to government schemes in the various districts of Manipur. 

Vungzagin Valte, holding the portfolios of Transport, Tribal Affairs & Hills,  General Administration and as Advisor to Chief Minister N Biren Singh prioritised hill road connectivity projects and worked to improve transport services in remote Kuki areas. These were state-funded initiatives that brought tangible development to long-neglected regions and benefited communities across ethnic lines. Manipur needs that same hands-on, development-first approach in the current cabinet to address the ongoing crisis effectively. 

However, history will judge you by one simple metric: when power and survival were offered in exchange for temporary compromise, did you seize the chance to serve your suffering people, or did you let personal confusion and fear of hardliners paralyse you into irrelevance?

The red beacon is waiting. The ex MLA letterhead is also waiting in the invitation. After 2027 you will either be addressed as “Hon’ble Minister” or as “former MLA who once had a chance.”The decision is yours alone.Your people have waited long enough.