PM Modi extends birthday wishes to Manipur CM

New Delhi [India], January 1 (AN): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on his birthday and lauded him for working assiduously to transform the state.
"Best wishes to the dynamic CM of Manipur, Shri N Biren Singh Ji on his birthday. He is working assiduously to transform the state. Praying for his long and healthy life," PM Modi tweeted.
Singh was born on January 1, 1961, in Imphal, Manipur.
A former football player-turned-journalist-turned-politician, Singh a former Congress leader joined BJP in October 2016, and in the 2020 Assembly elections, won from his traditional Heingang constituency for the record 5th time.
He began his career as a football player and got recruited into the Border Security Force (BSF) as a sportsman, and played for the BSF team in domestic competitions.
After quitting the BSF job, despite having no experience, he began a vernacular daily, "Naharolgi Thoudang" in 1992 and worked as its editor till 2001 before he joined politics in 2002.
In 2002, he fought and won his first electoral battle from Manipur's Heingang assembly constituency as a candidate of the Democratic Revolutionary People's Party.
Later he joined Congress and retained the seat in 2007 and served as a minister till 2012.
Four years later, he joined the BJP and in 2017, he won from the same assembly constituency again and led the first BJP government since 2017.
In the year 2020, Singh was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the second consecutive term, days after the BJP secured a thin majority in the assembly elections.