Ipsita Baishya
The hill state of Nagaland is scheduled to go to the polls on March 5 for the 60-member assembly. The Nagaland People’s Front and the Congress are set to witness a direct contest in the state, where peace and development are the main issues taken up by the various parties in the fray.
While talking of elections in Nagaland, one also has to take into context the recent political scenario to understand things in perspective. A total of 1.3 million voters are to exercise their franchise on March 5. The votes will be counted on March 8.
The change in the political climate over the past few months in Nagaland has come after the formation of another militant outfit, the NSCN (Unification) in November last with cadres drawn from both NSCN (Isak-Muivah) and NSCN (Khaplang).
In yet another major development, turmoil in the Neiphiu Rio-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) government on December 13 led to the President’s rule months before the elections. Nagaland was brought under the President`s Rule on January 3. It ended the three-week political drama triggered by a controversial no-confidence motion in the assembly on December 13 that was won by the BJP-backed Democratic Alliance of Nagaland. Despite Neiphiu Rio surviving the controversial trial of strength, Central rule was imposed barely a month before the assembly elections.
The Nagaland government`s victory in the 13 December vote of confidence was controversial. It won by 23-19 votes in the 60-member assembly after the Speaker barred three independents from taking part in voting and held that the votes of nine dissident members of the coalition were invalid.
Neiphiu Rio and the Nagaland People`s Front have criticised the move, calling it `outrageous` and `murder of democracy`. The move has stirred the heat of election where the BJP and Janata Dal-United-backed DAN takes on the Congress. Neiphiu Rio of NPF, which had 19 legislators, led the 37-member coalition.
Development
The Nagaland People’s Front has endorsed regionalism in its election campaigns emphasizing that local policies, programmes and development and its focus on grass root level for the welfare and upliftment of the people are its primary goals.
‘Nagalim’ demand
On the Indo-Naga issue, the NPF has maintained that it is committed to continue to strive for solution of the Naga political problem and that it is for recognition of the Nagas of Myanmar with specific demarcation of territory.
Sympathy wave
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is banking on the perceived discontent against President`s rule in Nagaland to win the assembly polls in the state. The BJP was part of the coalition that ruled the state before the President`s rule was imposed on January 3.
Though the BJP had only seven legislators in the 60-member Nagaland assembly, it was part of the coalition called the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) that also included the National People`s Front (NPF), the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and independents. While the BJP`s chances of a victory may be nebulous, the party is optimistic about coming back to power.
The BJP believes more voters will support it, seeing it as the party that will lead the next government in New Delhi after the general election in 2009. The BJP has announced that it would go it alone in the poll and take appropriate steps after the poll when the question comes to extend support to any alliance. The BJP with little presence in Nagaland and anywhere in the region will have to be content if it can improve its tally.
Finally the Congress’ focus firmly remains on wresting Nagaland, a traditional Congress bastion that was lost in 2003 citing imposition of President’s rule in the state.
Despite varied manifestos and strategies one thing all political players need to assure is the return of peace and normalcy to this conflict-torn state so that the state can be launched into the trajectory of prosperity and economic development. Let’s hope the eagerly-awaited March verdict does that and more.
