Will Central leaders listen to Paolienlal Haokip, who sabotaged the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections? 

The question of whether the Centre will heed Paolienlal Haokip's silly and irrelevant demands for a separate administration remains highly uncertain, particularly given the fact that he or his teams sabotaged the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Manipur. Paolienlal Haokip, who owed his 2022 victory in Saikot to BJP support, betrayed the party by allegedly sabotaging its prospects, resulting in NDA votes cratering to a mere 519 (less than 1% share) while Congress swept 48,600 in an electorate of over 62,000—a staggering 97% collapse from its former stronghold.

Despite such betrayal to the party, these Kuki MLAs are ready to back the popular NDA government formation process, only on condition that their political demand for a separate administration would continue to be pursued vigorously. 

Five Kuki legislators from Manipur led by 
Paolienlal Haokip (Saikot), Haokholet Kipgen (Saitu), Nemcha Kipgen (Kangpokpi), Letzamang Haokip (Henglep) and Chinlungthang (Singhat)—attended the key meeting held in Guwahati on January 13, 2026. 

While the remaining five—LM Khaute (Churachandpur), Vungzagin Valte (Thanlon), Kimneo Hangshing (Saikul), Ngursanglur Sanate (Tipaimukh), and Letpao Haokip (Tengnoupal)—were absent but have endorsed the resolution adopted during the discussions. 

Their demands continues to pose a sharp dilemma for the BJP high command as Manipur grapples with the impending expiration of President's Rule (extended to February 13, 2026) and urgent negotiations to form a popular government. 

With the BJP holding the largest bloc (37 MLAs) in the 60-member Assembly, any restoration of an NDA-led administration may hinge on conditional support from Kuki legislators, who have tied participation to time-bound commitments for a separate Union Territory with legislature for Kuki areas—demands. 

This was reiterated for the last time in recent Guwahati meeting on January 13, 2026, which involves SoO groups, the Kuki-Zo Council, and five Kuki MLAs.

The 2024 Outer Manipur (ST) Lok Sabha debacle—where Congress's Alfred Kanngam S. Arthur decisively defeated the NDA-backed NPF candidate—stemmed from massive NDA vote erosion in several hill segments, often in Kuki dominated areas. 

Allegations of internal sabotage persist, particularly where sitting BJP or allied MLAs presided over near-total collapses compared to their 2022 Assembly performances.

There is a realistic possibility that some of the seven Kuki BJP MLAs, who have long criticized the BJP state leadership, demanded separate administration, and indirectly contributed to anti-BJP sentiment in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll could shift loyalty to the Congress and contest the 2027 Manipur assembly elections on its ticket.

Consider Paolienlal Haokip in Saikot (ST), often described as a leading voice or "ring master" for separate administration. In 2022, he won decisively for BJP with 18,457 votes (approx. 35-36% share in total 52,590 valid votes), defeating his nearest rival by 5,871 votes in a multi-cornered contest with turnout around 84%. This was a breakthrough in a historically competitive Kuki seat. 

However, by 2024, NDA votes in Saikot cratered to 519 (less than 1% effective share), while INC swept 48,600 in an electorate over 62,000. This 97% drop is extraordinary—from dominant stronghold to near-erasure. Paolienlal Haokip has been outspoken: criticizing PM Modi's 2025 Manipur visit as "disappointing" and "political optics" with "hollow rhetoric," alleging ethnic cleansing, and insisting UT with legislature is the only solution, even warning of "alternatives" if unmet. His persistence despite being a BJP MLA fuels sabotage allegations. Was there tacit alignment with anti-BJP sentiment?

Sitting MLA LM Khaute (elected in 2022 on JD(U) ticket, part of NDA alliance) saw NDA votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha plummet to just 270 from 19,231 in his 2022 Assembly win (where he defeated a BJP candidate by a narrow margin of 624 votes). INC surged to 39,537 in an electorate of over 65,000. This core Kuki AC, with high turnout in some reports but overall anti-BJP sentiment, saw the NDA virtually erased—symbolizing either community rejection, a lack of effective campaigning by local leadership or a pure case of Sabotaging the BJP. 

Similarly, in Thanlon (ST) assembly constituency, the electoral results under sitting BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte reveal one of the most extreme collapses seen in the 2024 Outer Manipur Lok Sabha election, yet this outcome must be viewed through the lens of profound personal tragedy and physical incapacity rather than straightforward organizational sabotage or deliberate non-support. 

In the 2022 Manipur Assembly election, Valte secured a convincing victory for the BJP with 4,863 votes—approximately 36–37% vote share—in a contest with turnout of around 73%, defeating his nearest rival Khanthang Tonsing (NPP) by a margin of 751 votes out of roughly 13,340 total polled votes. 

By the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, however, the NDA tally in Thanlon plummeted to just 38 votes (effective share

Crucially, this collapse cannot be separated from Valte’s extraordinary personal circumstances during the election period. On May 4, 2023—just one day after the ethnic violence erupted—Valte, a three-time legislator and former Tribal Affairs Minister, was brutally attacked by a mob in Imphal shortly after attending a meeting with former-Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. The assault left him with life-threatening injuries: severe head trauma, multiple fractures (including to his face and jaw, requiring titanium implants), and significant neurological impairment. 

He was immediately airlifted to Delhi for extended treatment at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, where he remained under care for nearly two years. During the entire 2024 Lok Sabha campaign and polling period (March–April 2024), Valte was confined to a hospital bed in Delhi, physically unable to return to Manipur, let alone engage in any form of campaigning, public appearances, rallies, or direct coordination with local workers.

Even after his eventual return to Churachandpur on April 13, 2025—well after the Lok Sabha election—Valte continues to be wheelchair-bound, speaks with great difficulty (often in a whisper or slow, labored manner), struggles with basic movements, and requires constant assistance for everyday tasks. 

Even with Vungzagin Valte physically absent during the entire 2024 Lok Sabha campaign and polling period—confined to a hospital bed in Delhi recovering from his near-fatal mob attack—the BJP Thanlon Mandal committee and its purported network of workers were still very much in place on paper.

The party has long boasted of a robust grassroots structure in the hills, and Thanlon Mandal, like others, claims more than 100 active members, including mandal president, general secretary, booth presidents, booth-level agents, and ordinary karyakartas trained for last-mile mobilization. These cadres are supposed to function independently of the sitting MLA when necessary, especially in crisis situations, by coordinating rallies, countering opposition narratives, distributing materials, and ensuring turnout even in remote polling stations.

However, the final tally of just 38 NDA votes in an electorate of approximately 18,000–18,044 stands as a humiliating joke to the very existence and claimed strength of this mandal machinery.

What was the Thanlon BJP Mandal doing in 2024? The symbolic 38 NDA votes in  a 18,000-strong electorates seems state president is not fit enough to lead the party. 

In Tipaimukh AC, during 2022 State Assembly Election, NDA-backed candidate (JDU's Ngursanglur Sanate) won securing 6,267 votes in a competitive race (he defeated a BJP candidate narrowly in alliance dynamics). 

But, in 2024 Lok Sabha, NDA votes fell sharply to 1,275, while INC surged to 13,315 in an electorate of about 18,606. This significant drop (over 80% decline) in a seat that flipped to NDA in 2022 highlights a reversal, potentially reflecting mobilization failure or sabotage as his teammate Paolienlal Haokip.

The Singhat AC MLA Chinlunthang (KPA, allied with NDA in broader context) secured 12,098 NDA-aligned votes in 2022, winning convincingly. In 2024, NDA support collapsed to just 414, with INC taking 19,499 in an electorate of around 27,832. This near-erasure (over 96% drop) highlights the same as Saikot MLA. 

MLA Haokholet Kipgen (Independent in 2022 of Saitu AC, defeated BJP candidate Ngamthang Haokip by a margin of 2,694 votes) secured a strong victory with approximately 15,000+ votes in a competitive multi-cornered contest. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, NDA votes in Saitu collapsed to a mere 665, while INC surged to 20,198 in an electorate of around 28,124—a dramatic drop. 

In Henglep too, BJP MLA Letzamang Haokip won decisively in the 2022 Assembly election with a margin of 7,848 votes over INC's T. Manga Vaiphei, securing around 15,000+ votes (approximately 40%+ share in a high-turnout contest in this Churachandpur district segment). In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, NDA votes in Henglep fell sharply to 2,740, while INC captured 21,106 in an electorate of roughly 19,044—an over 80% decline from the MLA's 2022 performance. 

What explanations must be demanded from these Kuki MLAs—particularly Paolienlal Haokip and L M Khaute—for their apparent inability (or unwillingness) to mobilize even minimal support for the NDA candidate? Have disciplinary inquiries been initiated? Have accountability meetings been held? Or has the state unit simply looked the other way, prioritizing ethnic balancing over party discipline?

And what exactly were the district and mandal office-bearers, booth-level workers, and the vaunted organizational structure doing during this collapse? The BJP prides itself on its massive cadre strength and booth management prowess—yet in these hill strongholds, the party apparatus delivered virtually nothing. 

The 38 votes in Thanlon stand as a humiliating symbol. It is a direct insult to the thousands of dedicated workers who claim allegiance to the saffron flag. Will central leaders accommodate MLAs whose actions—or inactions—contributed to the party's humiliating defeat in Outer Manipur in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections?

These are not mere electoral shifts. They represent a profound failure, more pointedly, sabotage—of party machinery in the hills. How did sitting BJP MLAs allow (or enable) such near-total abandonment in their own strongholds? The organizational collapse—booth workers, mandal committees, district units—failed spectacularly, delivering humiliatingly low tallies that mock the BJP's boast of having one of the state's largest membership bases. 

Amidst the widespread narrative of internal sabotage and organizational collapse that plagued the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Outer Manipur Lok Sabha elections—particularly in several Kuki dominated hill segments where votes plummeted dramatically—three Kuki MLAs stand out for their remarkable efforts in preserving and even strengthening the NDA vote bank, in stark contrast to counterparts like Paolienlal Haokip, Vulzagin Valte and LM Khaute whose constituencies saw near-total erasure. 

Letpao Haokip in Tengnoupal (ST) exemplifies this positive outlier. He secured a decisive victory in the 2022 Assembly election with 19,176 votes (approximately 41–42% share in a high-turnout 93.55% contest), defeating his nearest NPF rival D. Korungthang by a margin of 6,411 votes in a total valid vote pool of around 46,000. 

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA (supporting the NPF candidate) actually increased its tally in Tengnoupal to 22,264 votes from 2022 levels, while INC received 16,181 in an electorate of around 44,914—retaining clear dominance with an effective 49–50% segment share and a modest +3% uptick. 

Though many argue that the NDA performance may partly owe to the significant Naga voter presence in Tengnoupal, where NPF has historically strong cadres and organizational roots that likely complemented BJP efforts rather than clashing with them.

Similarly, Kimneo Haokip Hangshing, the KPA MLA from Saikul (ST) and aligned with the NDA post-2022, maintained a credible hold on the alliance vote bank. In the 2022 Assembly election, she won with 21,289 votes in a competitive multi-cornered fight. During the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, despite the intense pressures and community directives against the BJP/NDA, the alliance secured 15,032 votes—a moderate 29% decline from 2022—while INC managed only a low 3,907 in an electorate of 49,735. 

Nemcha Kipgen in Kangpokpi further reinforces this pattern of resilience. The BJP MLA secured 14,412 votes in her 2022 Assembly win. In 2024, NDA votes dipped to 8,896—a reasonable 38% reduction amid the broader turmoil—but INC was virtually negligible at just 665 in an electorate of 28,124, allowing the alliance to retain overwhelming dominance. 

Thus, the sabotage by Kuki BJP MLAs like Paolienlal Haokip demands explanations, disciplinary action, and rebuilding of grassroots trust. Without addressing why its own elected representatives presided over—or failed to prevent—the collapse of the NDA vote in their constituencies, the party risks permanent alienation in a state already torn apart. The 2024 results were not just a loss; they were a warning that loyalty and organization cannot be taken for granted when leadership falters at every critical juncture.

Even though, BJP maintains a strictly hierarchical structure, where the state president—appointed by the national leadership—holds supreme authority in the state unit and enforces discipline across all levels, from mandal to district and state executives.

The party prides itself on its formidable cadre base in Manipur, boasting thousands of dedicated mandal office-bearers, booth-level agents, and volunteers skilled in voter outreach, list verification, counter-propaganda, and grassroots mobilization—key strengths seen in its successes elsewhere in India.

However, in Kuki-dominated hill districts like Churachandpur, Pherzawl, Kangpokpi, and Saikot, the near-total absence of BJP mandal functionaries, booth presidents, and grassroots workers during the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign highlights the party's severe organizational collapse and working against the BJP and its allies. 

To revive the BJP and secure an NDA government in 2027, the central leadership must act decisively. It should appoint a new Chief Minister and state party president with the credibility, impartiality, and administrative skill to rebuild grassroots units, enforce discipline, bridge ethnic divides without compromising Manipur's integrity, and project a unifying vision of peace and development.

The high command must select leaders capable of revival—not managers of stagnation—if it hopes to reclaim Manipur as a saffron stronghold before 2027.