Congress to follow suit; BJP inks alliance with newly floated NDDP as ties with ruling NPF hit rock bottom.
New Delhi: The uncertainty over the Nagaland Assembly polls, due on 27 February, seems to be over with the BJP announcing its list of candidates. The Congress and the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) are set to follow suit soon.
The BJP Friday forged an alliance with the newly floated Nationalist Democratic People’s Party (NDPP) led by former chief minister Neiphiu Rio after its ties with the NPF hit rock bottom.
There is, however, no official word from the BJP about the fate of its relationship with the NPF.
NPF is one of the 11 parties, which had on 29 January decided not to contest the assembly election, agreeing to the demand of tribal bodies for an early solution to the protracted Naga political problem.
“The BJP high command decided to make seat sharing alliance with NDPP without breaking any political relationship with NPF,” Azeu Namcyn Hau, press secretary to the Nagaland chief minister, told ThePrint. “There is no severing of ties with NPF.”
The NDPP will contest 40 of the 60 seats while the BJP would field candidates in the rest of the 20 seats, BJP sources said.
A day after the election boycott call, nine NPF legislators resigned from their assembly seats. The BJP backed out of the declaration and suspended Kheto Sema, the executive member who signed it, and state party vice-president, Tsasepi Sangtam for not consulting with the party’s central leadership.
K. Therie, president of Nagaland Congress is of view that NDPP has little presence in villages. “The alliance with NDPP will not help since neither BJP nor NDPP have grassroots organisation. It is Congress and NPF which have presence in all the villages,” he maintained.
Even the state unit of the BJP seems to be unhappy with the alliance with NDPP with Visasolie Lhoungu, president of the state unit, writing to party chief Amit Shah in this connection.
When asked about a possible alliance between Congress and NPF, Therie said: “It’s too late for an alliance right now but we may have a tacit understanding with all secular forces against communal forces.”
“I’m not surprised with this alliance (BJP-NPF) breaking. (Ex-CM) Shurhozelie Liezietsu has been a regional party president for almost half a century, who does not believe in BJP ideology,” Therie added.
After the gazette notification was released by the Election Commission of India on 31 January, the BJP state unit had a series of meetings with Naga National Political Groups Working Committee to decide its course of action.
“Since ours is a national party, we have to go by the directive of the central leaders (to contest elections),” Lhoungu said.
“However, we have communicated the sentiments of the locals to our leaders.”
Spectre of 1998 haunts parties
Hau said although the NPF would continue to stand by the resolution passed in assembly on 15 December, asking the Centre to end the uncertainty over the Naga political problem, the party did not want a repeat of 1998 when a similar poll boycott call had helped S.C. Jamir-led state Congress sweep the election.
R.N. Ravi, the Centre’s interlocutor for the Naga issue, reportedly gave an assurance that elections will not come in the way of implementing the solution. “NPF has decided to contest the elections and nominations are expected to be filed by Monday as they are still sorting out the ticket distribution,” the source said.
Informally, all other parties are waiting for BJP to file their nominations first, which could help them justify contesting elections.
Tribal bodies suspicious of BJP
Naga Hoho, the apex tribal body in Nagaland, is, however, suspicious of the BJP moves.
“BJP is playing games with the people,” said Chuba Ozukum, president of Naga Hoho. “The ground situation here is different and the BJP party functionaries should understand that they have to live among the Naga people,” he added.
Ozukum also claims that elections in Nagaland have become a money festival. “People will only take advantage of this situation to get money from the candidates,” he said.
Civil society organisations as well as the NSCN-IM, which had signed framework agreement for Naga Peace Accord with the Centre, recently appealed to candidates not to file nominations, saying they will be held ‘accountable’ and branded ‘anti-Naga’ if they do so.
A peaceful bandh was observed in three districts — Dimapur, Zunhebuto and Mokukchung, on 1 February. Tribal bodies are said to be keeping an eye on candidates until 7 February, the last date of filing nomination.