Hiphei began his political career with the Mara Freedom Party in September 1963.
He was then elected to the state assembly from the Tuipang constituency as an independent in 1972 and was made deputy speaker.
[2] He joined the Janata Party in 1978 and then in 1984 switched his affiliation to the Indian National Congress.
He was elected to the upper house of India's Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, for two terms, from 1990 to 1996 and from 1996 to 2002, as a member of the Indian National Congress.
[3] He served as the Speaker of Mizoram Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1990, and from 2013 until 5 November 2018, but, resigned from the post and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party a few hours later.