Leishemba Sanajaoba

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Use Indian English|date=March 2020}}

{{Short description|Titular king and politician in India}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Leishemba Sanajaoba

| office = Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha

| term_start = 19 June 2020

| term_end =

| predecessor = Bhabananda Singh

| constituency = Manipur

| nationality = Indian

| party = Bharatiya Janata Party

| residence = Royal Palace Compound, Imphal, Imphal East District, Manipur

| alma_mater = B.A. (English Hons.), Maharaja Bodhchandra College

| profession =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1972|03|01}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| relatives = Bodhchandra Singh {{small|(grandfather)}}

{{small|also see Kingdom of Manipur}}

| father = Maharaja Okendrajit Singh

| website =

| source = https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/member_site/Main.aspx

}}

Leishemba Sanajaoba is the current member of the former royal family of the princely state of Manipur in India, and a politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party from Manipur. In 2020, he was elected as the member of Rajya Sabha from Manipur.

{{Cite news |author=Pradip Phanjoubam |title=A new twist in the plot in Manipur |newspaper=The Telegraph (India) |date=25 March 2020 |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/bjp-choice-of-manipur-titular-customary-king-leishemba-sanajaoba-as-only-rajya-sabha/cid/1759170}}

{{Cite news |title=Manipur titular king Leishemba files nomination as BJP candidate for Rajya Sabha polls |newspaper=NE Now |date=14 March 2020 |url=https://nenow.in/north-east-news/manipur/manipur-titular-king-leishemba-files-nomination-as-bjp-candidate-for-rajya-sabha-polls.html }}

{{cite news |title= BJP candidate Leishemba Sanajaoba wins RS election in Manipur |newspaper=EastMojo |date=25 March 2020 |url=https://www.eastmojo.com/manipur/2020/06/20/bjp-candidate-leishemba-sanajaoba-wins-rs-election-in-manipur }} He is often addressed with the honorific "maharaja", which is not a statutory title.

{{citation |author=R. K. Nimal |title=Is Manipur still a Kingdom? |newspaper=Imphal Free Press |date=23 June 2020 |url=https://www.ifp.co.in/774/is-manipur-still-a-kingdom}}

He continues to be the symbolic and spiritual head of ritualistic traditions of the erstwhile kingdom of Manipur. In 2020 he founded and led the group Arambai Tenggol which has had heavy involvement in the Manipur conflict.{{Cite web |last=Saikia |first=Arunabh |date=2023-06-06 |title=Armed gangs and a partisan state: How Manipur slipped into civil war |url=https://scroll.in/article/1050361/armed-gangs-and-a-partisan-state-how-manipur-slipped-into-civil-war |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Scroll.in |language=en}}