Shillong, Feb 2: The National People’s Party (NPP) has faced a split in its Manipur unit after its former state president, Yumnam Joykumar Singh, launched the NPP (Tera Lai), claiming to represent the original NPP.
The NPP (TL) was officially launched yesterday as a regional political party in Manipur. Yumnam Joykumar assumed the role of president, vowing to serve the people without bias and positioning the party as an inclusive alternative focused on a united Manipur.
It is Yumnam Joykumar’s contention that the NPP was not founded in Meghalaya in 2013 by Purno A Sangma but had been around in Manipur since at least 1989. The NPP is the ruling party in Meghalaya and is led by Purno’s son, Conrad K Sangma. His party has a presence in other North East states, including Manipur, but not as large as in Meghalaya.
According to a source, the trigger for the split came in 2025 following the release of a documentary called, ‘Tera Lai: The Forgotten Heroes of Manipur, The Rise of NPP’. This documentary claimed Nongthombam Ibomcha Singh (popularly known as Tera Laimu or Tera Lai) from Patsoi constituency in Imphal West as the true founder of the NPP.
A week after the documentary came out, Yumnam Joykumar was removed as NPP state president.
This argument of who founded the NPP is not a new one. In 2020 Thangminlien Kipgen (then claiming leadership of the Manipur unit) accused Conrad Sangma of orchestrating a “coup d’état” to rewrite party history by crediting his late father as the founder despite the party’s supposed origins in Manipur in 1989. Kipgen described Purno’s 2012 election as president of the NPP as a takeover rather than as a founding act.
The NPP, the source added, was registered with the Election Commission of India as a state party in Manipur and viewed as a re-emergence of the earlier Praja Shanti party from 1948.
In its early years, the original NPP contested Manipur assembly elections on a sporadic basis and secured one seat in 1990 when V Hangkhalian won from Churachandpur; he later served as a minister. The party followed this up by winning two seats in the 1995 Assembly polls and then three in 2007.
Purno split with the Nationalist Congress Party in 2012 after it declined to support his run for President of India. The NPP then swept to power in Meghalaya in 2018.
The source added that while the official NPP narrative emphasises Purno as founder, Manipur sources and some party documents acknowledge Ibomcha’s foundational role in 1989.
Another grouse of Yumnam Joykumar was Conrad’s role in the founding of the nascent political initiative known as One North East (ONE). This was, according to a source, reportedly to focus on giving a unified voice to North East tribals but several members of the NPP in Manipur wanted it to represent all indigenous groups in Manipur; the Meitei are currently not recognised as a Scheduled Tribe.
Yumnam Joykumar is also staunchly opposed to splitting Manipur, which is a demand of several Kuki organisations. His unwavering stand on this issue was one reason he was shunted out of his leadership role in the NPP Manipur, Yumnam Joykumar publicly said.
The Conrad-led NPP has four MLAs in the Manipur Assembly but whether they stay loyal or jump to the NPP (TL) is now the question on everyone’s mind. They were, according to the source, nurtured by Yumnam Joykumar and may thus want to shift their allegiances.
