Imphal : The Manipur Cabinet has decided to conduct Panchayat elections at the earliest, acting on a directive issued by the Manipur High Court during the period of President’s Rule, which mandated that the long-pending local body polls be held within six months.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting held on Friday afternoon at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, presided over by Chief Minister Y. Khemchand. This was the second Cabinet meeting since he assumed office as the 13th Chief Minister of the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, Cabinet Ministers Govindas Konthoujam and Khuraijam Loken, and Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel attended the meeting. Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki leader, joined the meeting virtually.

The High Court of Manipur, in an order dated August 29, 2025, had directed the then President’s Rule administration to conduct Panchayat elections within six months. The order was passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Kempaiah Somashekar and Justice Guneshwar Sharma while hearing petitions related to the prolonged delay in local body elections. Panchayat polls in Manipur were last held in 2017.

The sixth general election to Panchayats in the state was originally scheduled for June 2023 but was cancelled due to the prevailing law and order situation amid prolonged unrest in the border state.

Sources said the Cabinet took up the issue following questions raised by Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Manipur, Bimol Akoijam, who sought clarification on the delay in holding Panchayat elections. Akoijam had asked whether the state government was taking steps to ensure timely conduct of the polls in keeping with the constitutional mandate of grassroots democracy, and what measures were being planned to overcome obstacles to the electoral process.

Responding to Akoijam’s query in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj S. P. Singh Baghel had stated that Panchayat elections in Manipur are often delayed due to administrative challenges, court cases and litigation, issues related to delimitation of Panchayats, and reservation of seats-matters that fall under the jurisdiction of the state government.

With the Cabinet’s latest decision, the state government is expected to initiate the process to comply with the High Court’s order and restore elected local self-governments after nearly a decade-long gap.