Episode 15 of Mission Manipur tracks how the BJP moved to restore an elected government in the state after months of political paralysis, and how that “return to normalcy” quickly unravelled on the ground. As Manipur got a new Chief Minister in February 2026 and the party tried to project stability through high-profile visits and carefully staged messaging, fresh faultlines opened up—first in Ukhrul, where violence between Kuki and Tangkhul groups escalated into an insurgent tussle, and then in Bishnupur, where a bomb blast in Tronglaobi killed two Meitei children, five-year-old Tomthin Oinam and five-month-old Oinam Leisana.

The episode follows how their deaths became the emotional and political centre of protests across the Imphal valley, triggering blockades, curfews, and a widening breakdown of trust in both the State government and Central forces. It also examines the unanswered questions around accountability, the role of security camps in sensitive border villages, and the competing narratives along with disinformation that spread rapidly even under internet shutdowns. One such incident almost led to an Assam Rifles officer being lynched by an agitated mob. Through ground reporting, eyewitness audio, and voices from within the protest movement, this episode captures a Manipur where governance is being performed as spectacle, while violence, rumours, and public rage continue to set the terms of everyday life.