NDPP’s Neiphiu Rio with BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav in Dimapur, Nagaland on Saturday. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)
The uncertainty over who will form the next government in Nagaland came to an end on Sunday after BJP leader and north-east in-charge Ram Madhav and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) chief Neiphiu Rio met Governor PB Acharya to stake claim to form the next government. LIVE UPDATES
The BJP, which had won only one seat in the 2013 state Assembly polls, bagged 12 seats this year, while its ally, the newly-formed NDPP, won 17 seats in the 60-member House. On Sunday, the state’s chief electoral officer cleared the confusion over the Tenning constituency and handed over the seat to NDPP, instead of NFP, following a tabulation error.
The NPF, on the other hand, became the single largest party in the House with 27 seats in its kitty. The National People’s Party (NPP) bagged two seats, lesser than expected, while JD(U) managed one seat. Out of a total of 11 Independent candidates, only one Independent candidate managed a win.
This year, the election season witnessed debates over various important issues, primarily between the NPF and BJP-backed NDPP. However, it was the newly-developed alliance which managed to grab a larger share of the electoral pie as the saffron party continued to surge in the north-east.
Major split: NPF and BJP-backed NDPP war over leadership
The assembly election, this year, was nothing but a battle between Chief Minister and NPF leader T R Zeliang and his predecessor Neiphiu Rio, then of the NPF but now heading his own party — NDPP — in alliance with the BJP. In October last year, massive infighting had broken out within the NPF, causing the formation of the NDPP. While Rio remained in the party for a few months, he later joined the NDPP, with the party declaring that he would lead the NDPP’s charge in the election. The split proved to be of maximum help to the BJP who decided to forge an alliance with NDPP and dump its 15-year-old alliance partner NPF.
While the NPF mostly concentrated on a regional identity, positioning itself as champions of Nagas and blaming Rio for instability in the state in his dalliances with the Centre, the NDPP-BJP alliance tried to usurp the role of opposition, calling Zeliang “a weak leader”, with the slogan “Change is Coming”.
Read | Nagaland Assembly elections 2018: Former three-time chief minister to win unopposed?
Religion: Influence of BJP in Christian-dominated state
Prior to the elections, the saffron party was seen as a major threat to the Christian-dominated state by most rival parties, including the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), the most powerful church body in Nagaland. While NBCC and Congress cautioned the citizens about the spread of Hindutva, NPF president Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu urged Nagas “not to gamble their faith with politics” and termed February 27 election as an “acid test for the Nagas to preserve their identity and faith.”
Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, however, rubbished the “anti-Christian allegations” and said his party was clear that interest of the majority Christian people have to be protected at all cost. “The allegations that the BJP party supports anti-Christian activities are completely baseless because BJP has been fighting to protect the interest of Christians in the state and also national level,” Rijiju had said at an election campaign rally for BJP candidate under 17-Chizami A/C, Kevechutso Doulo at Chizami Town in Phek district.
Read | Allegations that BJP is “anti-Christian” are baseless, says Rijiju
Promise of development: BJP attack on NPF
In rallies and speeches across the state, the BJP deplored the state of development and infrastructure, justifying themselves by saying that it was the NPF and the instability it brought that had held them back. In his only rally in Tuensanf, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said if the NDPP-BJP alliance was voted to power, two engines of development, one from the state, and one from the Centre would propel the state.
Saffron party presented itself as harbinger of change
Another key aspect in BJP’s rise in Nagaland is the party effectively presenting itself as the opposition, and the harbinger of change, despite being in government. While on the face if it BJP separated from NPF following disagreements on seat-sharing, once it did chose NDPP, it aggressively advertised the friendship between Neihiu Rio and PM Narendra Modi. In a state plagued by instability, ironically much of it caused by Rio’s move to Delhi, his subsequent return and crumbling infrastructure, BJP found a way to capitalise on anti-incumbency despite being in government.
Read | How BJP made Naga inroads
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