There are no rivals in the Nagaland Assembly. There seem to be no friends either.
On August 16, the People’s Democratic Alliance government metamorphosed into the Nagaland United Government, or NUG. This followed the induction of the opposition Naga People’s Front (NPF) into the government headed by the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP).
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said the political parties set their differences aside to join hands and work collectively towards achieving a peaceful and amicable solution to the protracted Naga political issue. The issue pertains to the peace process with several Naga extremists groups since 1997.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, the minor partner of the NDPP in the pre-NUG government, was reportedly unhappy with the NPF coming on board. The BJP used to be an ally of the NPF before choosing the NPFF as its pre-poll partner ahead of the 2018 Nagaland polls.
Most of the NDPP leaders, including Mr. Rio, have come from the NPF.
The BJP’s central leadership was quick to call Mr. Rio and the party’s Nagaland unit president Temjen Imna Along to New Delhi to discuss the inclusion of the NPF in the government.
“The all-party government appears to be a feel-good experiment. But under the surface, each party is suspecting the other of a bigger plan keeping the 2023 Assembly polls in mind,” an MLA said, seeking anonymity.
The BJP is said to be wary of Mr. Rio trying to keep it out of the equation by forging a regional alliance. There is also the suspicion that the NDPP pre-empted a possible move by the BJP to mend fences with the NPF and reduce the chances of Mr. Rio of becoming the Chief Minister again.
The NPF, on the other hand, is believed to have kept its options open to be in power again after the 2023 polls. There are no signs yet of the NDPP-BJP yielding any ministerial berth to the NPF after its induction into the government.
NPF president and former Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu said the “new arrangement” was in the spirit of regionalism and that people understood that it had to be done for “political reasons”. He refuted reports that the NPF was trying to revive its old alliance with BJP for replacing the NDPP.
The NPF is an ally of the BJP in adjoining Manipur.
The 60-member Nagaland Assembly has an effective strength of 59 after the death of an MLA. The NPF is the single largest party with 25 seats followed by the NDPP with 20 and the BJP with 12, while two MLAs are Independents.
