Nongthombam Biren Singh who is the country’s first Chief Minister to have been a career sportsman before he became a politician.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, in his younger days, was a talented footballer. He was 18 years old when he was spotted by Border Security Force (BSF) officials during a football match in Manipur capital Imphal. He joined the BSF team and was the first Manipuri footballer to play outside the state. He was part of the BSF team that won the Durand Cup in 1981.He quit the BSF team a year later in 1982, but played football for 10 more years in the Manipur state team.
The 2022 edition of the Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, is being held in multiple venues of Kolkata, Imphal and Guwahati. Manipur is hosting 10 group C matches of the Cup. To promote the competition, N Biren Singh shared a video on social media, where he can be seen playing with a football.
Come one come all !
Let’s enjoy the opening ceremony of the Durand Cup today, one of the oldest football tournaments in the world.@PMOIndia @narendramodi @rajnathsingh @adgpi pic.twitter.com/Rl7uhNZRr1
— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) August 18, 2022
Manipur Government announced half-day holiday on Thursday for all Government offices and institutions including schools and colleges to enable employees to watch the inaugural match between two state based teams of NEROCA FC and TRAU FC.
Delighted to attend the Inaugural Ceremony of the Imphal Chapter of Durand Cup-2022 today.
Durand Cup is one of the oldest football tournaments in the world.
The Indian Army has done a commendable job by organising the matches in Manipur. pic.twitter.com/TRUo5KJOQQ
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 18, 2022
NEROCA FC beat local rivals TRAU FC 3-1 in a group C fixture of the Durand Cup at the Khuman Lampak stadium here on Thursday. Biren Singh in his speech thanked the Indian Army and tournament authority for making it possible to hold Durand Cup matches in the state.
What a thoughtful gesture from Hon'ble Defence Minister Shri @rajnathsingh Ji to present me a framed photo of myself from the Durand Cup which I played in 1981.
Nostalgic and extremely heartwarming. pic.twitter.com/Brs0Dm9VHg
— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) August 18, 2022
N Biren Singh’s Journey from Football field to Political power corridor:
N Biren Singh, 61, was earlier a footballer and later he took to journalism before finally switching to politics in 2002.
Born in Imphal in 1961, Mr Singh graduated from Manipur University. He played football for the Border Security Force (BSF) team, which won the Durand Cup in 1981. Quitting the BSF team a year later, he then played several domestic tournaments.
Following his stint as an active football player, Mr Singh took up journalism in 1992. With no formal training, he started a regional newspaper ‘Naharolg go Thoudang’ and worked as an editor till 2002.
Another turn of fate in 2002 led him to take a plunge into politics. Mr Singh made his debut by joining the ranks of the Democratic Revolutionary Peoples’ Party. Contesting his first election in 2002, he won the Heingang Assembly constituency.
After switching to Congress in 2003, Mr Singh managed to retain his Heingang seat. In the Congress government under Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Singh was a minister of vigilance. He also became a minister for irrigation, flood control and youth affairs and sports in 2007.
However, there was a fallout between Mr Singh and Okram Ibobi Singh, who was considered his long time close aide when he was left out of the Cabinet after the 2012 elections. Notably, he won a third consecutive term from the Heingang Assembly seat.
After switching to Congress in 2003, Mr Singh managed to retain his Heingang seat. In the Congress government under Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Singh was a minister of vigilance. He also became a minister for irrigation, flood control and youth affairs and sports in 2007.
However, there was a fallout between Mr Singh and Okram Ibobi Singh, who was considered his long time close aide when he was left out of the Cabinet after the 2012 elections. Notably, he won a third consecutive term from the Heingang Assembly seat.
In 2016, he rebelled against the then Chief Minister and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in October.
In the 2017 Assembly polls, Congress faced defeat, falling short of a clear majority. N Biren Singh led the BJP to cobble together a coalition government, becoming the chief minister of the state. In 2017, he won the Heingang seat for the fourth term, and also became the first Chief Minister from the BJP.
He established his position in the BJP further by winning the 2022 mandate with the party on its own crossing the halfway mark in the Assembly.And become the Chief Minister of Manipur for the second term.
The BJP won 32 out of 60 Assembly seats in Manipur.
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Manipur Durand Cup N Biren Singh Football Sports Kolkata
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