NAGA POWER PLAY
Neiphiu Rio, former Nagaland chief minister and sole Lok Sabha member from the Naga People’s Front (NPF), had a dream. He wanted to be CM again. He had already served three consecutive terms, quitting in 2014 because he thought he had a shot at becoming a cabinet minister. At the time, NPF leader T.R. Zeliang had eagerly stepped in to fill the vacated post. But though Rio was elected to Parliament, he was overlooked for a cabinet post.
With Zeliang forced to resign in February this year—after Nagaland was riven by protests against his decision to implement 33 per cent reservations for women in civic elections—Rio became the obvious favourite. But in a byzantine turn of events, NPF president Shurhozelie Liezietsu was sworn in as Nagaland’s 11th chief minister on February 22 instead, highlighting the BJP’s role as kingmaker in the state.
The story goes back to at least last year. In May 2016, Rio was suspended from the NPF for ‘anti-party activities’; specifically, scheming to become chief minister again, at the expense of Zeliang. That was a significant setback, but when the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) and Joint Coordination Committee shut down the entire state before the February 1 urban local bodies polls, Rio knew he had his chance. The NTAC announced that it would not relent until Zeliang stepped down; it was probably not a coincidence that a key member of the group was closely associated with Rio.
That was when the BJP intervened. Though it has only four legislators in the opposition-less Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) coalition government— the NPF is the major constituent with 48 legislators—it wields considerable influence. On February 17, under pressure from NTAC, 39 NPF MLAs had asked Zeliang to step down. He flew to Delhi and had a closed-door meeting with BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav. The BJP had to be careful not to alienate Rio given his rapport with National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) leaders. And so, Madhav arranged a meeting between Rio and Zeliang, and a deal was struck, in which Zeliang would become finance minister in a new Rio government.
However, the deal fell through. The NSCN (I-M)’s economic blockade of Manipur had become an insupportable problem for the BJP’s brass, hurting the party’s chances in state elections beginning March 4. And in the end, it was Rio’s earlier suspension that settled matters. Enter Liezietsu, with a rather unceremonious exit for Rio.
LIEZIETSU’S RISE IN A BIZARRE TURN OF EVENTS UNDERSCORES THE BJP’S ROLE AS KINGMAKER