Nagaland is Heating Up Towards an Election

On February 5, with two days to go before the deadline for filing the nomination papers, there has not been a single nomination filed with the Election Commission in Nagaland. The last date for filing nominations is February 7. While the major players in Nagaland have hinted on several occasions that they would contest in the elections, the BJP, NCP and NDPP have all stated unequivocally that they would be contesting. 

In a twist to the reports that the BJP and the NDPP had entered into a seat-sharing alliance, according to IANS, the state BJP unit has stated that the BJP’s prospects are improving day by day, and with 45 candidates, the question of a pre-poll alliance does not arise. The state unit also mentioned that the BJP is not opposed to a post-poll alliance with any party. However, Neiphiu Rio, the Chief Ministerial candidate for the NDPP mentioned that the NDPP – BJP alliance would be good for Nagaland. What appears to be happening is that the state unit of the BJP is not quite convinced by the overtures of the party high command. In a separate development, the Nagaland Congress (NC), a breakaway faction of the INC’s state unit for Nagaland, has completely merged with the NPP.

Considering that the NPF and NPP have both been NDA partners, they seem to be contesting the elections without any pre-poll alliance in place. The NDPP which is a newly formed regional party has entered a pre-poll alliance with the BJP, however, the NDPP is made up of former NPF members. The other twist comes from the fact that Naga civil society has largely opposed the elections stating that they would prefer to have the Final Solution inked before any elections are held. The NNPGs have also expressed their displeasure to holding elections before the negotiations are complete, though the NSCN(IM) has been the main voice.

Though there have been no ‘militant’ sponsored acts of violence alongside this period of uncertainty, there have been a few incidents worth mentioning. On February 2, the Central Administrative Officer (CAO) of NSCN(IM)’s Asalu (Zeliangrong) region’s Deputy Kilonser was shot dead by ‘unknown miscreants’ in Jalukie Town in Peren District. On February 4, six vehicles belonging to a prospective JD(U) candidate were damaged by a mob allegedly instigated by a prospective NPF candidate from the area. The killing of the NSCN(IM) member may, however, be linked more to personal enmity or a factional killing, whereas the attack on the vehicles could be linked more to the political rivalry. However, neither of these incidents appear to be linked in any way to the demand for ‘solution not election’.