Nagaland cabinet swearing-in: Neiphiu Rio takes oath as CM for the fifth term
2 min read . Updated: 07 Mar 2023, 02:42 PM IST
Premium- Rio will be leading an all-party government with no opposition in his state even as the central government continues talks with former rebels
The Nagaland cabinet swearing-in ceremony is underway, wherein the state's regional political party Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) leader Neiphiu Rio took oath as Chief Minister of Nagaland for the fifth term.
Further T R Zeliang, Y Patton take oath as deputy CMs of Nagaland, other members of Rio cabinet were also sworn-in by Governor La Ganesan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Nagaland Governor La Ganesan, BJP President JP Nadda and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma witness the oath-taking ceremony in Kohima.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to the northeastern states of Meghalaya, and Nagaland and is attending the swearing in ceremony of Conrad Sangma-led government in Meghalaya and Neiphu Rio-led council of ministers in Nagaland.
Rio will be leading an all-party government with no opposition in his state even as the central government continues talks with former rebels of the NSCN (IM) to finalise a long-awaited peace accord in the border state.
The NDPP-BJP coalition, in the recently concluded Nagaland polls, won 37 seats in the 60-member Assembly.
All other parties in the state subsequently extended their letters of support to the Rio-led alliance.
Notably, a history was scripted in Nagaland when the state elected its first women legislators in its 60 years of statehood. The state, which has had 13 Assemblies so far, never had a woman MLA before Thursday's result.
The two women lawmakers - Hekhani Jakhalu and Salhoutuonuo Kruse of the ruling NDPP defeated the sitting MLAs in Western Angami and Dimapur-III seats respectively.
The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the BJP fought the February 27 election for the 60-member state assembly with a 40:20 seat-sharing formula and won 25 and 12 constituencies respectively to return to power for the second time in a row.
Since the commencement of election campaign, both NDPP and BJP had projected 72-year-old Rio as their chief ministerial candidate.
In the 2018 election, the NDPP and the BJP had contested the assembly election with the same formula and won 18 and 12 seats respectively.
(With agency inputs)