In Nagaland, BJP’s alliance gamble pays off

NEWDELHI/KOHIMA: The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance looked set to form the next government in Nagaland after trends and results on Saturday suggested it had hit the halfway mark in the state assembly elections.

“In Nagaland NDPP-BJP alliance has secured 30 seats. With the support of 1 independent we are comfortably placed to form d government,” BJP general secretary Ram Madhav wrote on Twitter on Saturday evening.

The alliance’s chief ministerial candidate Neiphiu Rio met Madhav in Agartala to discuss government formation.

The BJP had chosen the NDPP over its existing ally, the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF), which continues to be part of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance, an umbrella group of regional parties, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre.

The BJP had two ministers in the outgoing state government.

BJP insiders say the decision to ally with the NDPP was driven by two considerations.

First, the party wanted to increase its footprint in Nagaland, which could not have been possible without contesting more seats in the state, and the NDPP was offering them a better deal.

The BJP had fielded candidates in 11 constituencies in the 2013 assembly election, won one seat, and polled 19,121 votes for a vote share of 1.8%.

By late evening on Saturday, the BJP had won 12 seats with about 1.5 lakh actual votes and a share of around 15%.

Second, the BJP was not sure about how the NPF’s internal dynamics would play out, with Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang and party president Shurhozelie Liezietsu engaged in a turf war in the run up to the polls.

“Both wanted to ally with BJP and cut the other to size. We did not want to get into this tug-ofwar,” said a BJP general secretary, who asked not to be named.

When former chief minister Rio quit the party this January and moved to the NDPP, significantly broadening the political landscape of the state, the BJP chose him as its ally.

Rio, an ex-MP who resigned from the Lok Sabha on Thursday, is also a former NPF leader.

The NPF, which emerged as the single-largest party with 26 seats, looks set to sit in the opposition after being in power since 2003.

Outgoing chief minister Zeliang, however, said he is still open to an alliance with the BJP.

“We are continuing with the alliance. We never parted at any point of time. And we hope that they (BJP) will come forward and join our government,” he was quoted as saying.