News Analysis India

Tag: Naga People’s Front

  • Manipur: Former allies keen to realign with BJP

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: All non-Congress political parties in Manipur are virtually queuing up to be either in the coalition or associate with the BJP that won a thumping majority.

    Among the notable is National People’s Party (NPP) which is led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

    Before and during campaigning, the NPP’s relationship with the BJP had turned sour. While Sangma had postured against the BJP even during campaigning, his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh was categorical after the results were declared that the NPP would not be a part of the government. Yet, Sangma is apparently trying to mend fences.

    “We are in touch with the BJP’s central leadership. How can they suddenly ignore us when we are a part of NEDA (North-East Democratic Alliance) and NDA?” an NPP leader said.

    BJP heads NEDA which is a conglomerate of non-Congress parties of the Northeast.

    By winning 32 of the 60 seats, the BJP is comfortably placed to form the government on its own. However, Singh had stated the BJP would align with “like-minded parties”.

    The names of the like-minded parties have not been spelled out yet. NPP and Naga People’s Front (NPF) are the two key constituents of Singh’s outgoing government.

    Immediately after the election results were declared, the NPF, which was born in Nagaland, had committed its support to the BJP.

    “We have decided to extend our support to the BJP-led government. This decision was made keeping in mind our earlier association with the BJP-led government in Manipur,” NPF leader Achumbemo Kikon had stated.

    The NPF had also come up with a letter of support with a copy addressed to Governor La Ganesan. Similarly, the Janata Dal (United) has committed its support to the BJP “in the formation of the government”.

    “The JD-U would like to appeal to the BJP to honour the mandate reposed on the party and fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people of Manipur,” the party said against the backdrop of the CM’s statement that it is not a BJP ally in Manipur.

    In 2017, the BJP had won 21 seats against Congress’ 28, but still, it managed to form a coalition government with support from NPP, NPF, Lok Janshakti Party, All India Trinamool Congress and an Independent MLA.

  • Naga People’s Front joins govt, Nagaland House becomes ‘Opposition-less’

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Nagaland Assembly became “Opposition-less” as the ruling coalition, led by Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), inducted Naga People’s Front (NPF) into the government to work collectively towards achieving a peaceful and amicable solution to the protracted “Naga political issue”.

    The NPF is the state’s only opposition party that has elected members. The party had won 25 seats in the last elections but suspended seven MLAs later for hobnobbing with the NDPP.

    The 60-member House presently has the strength of 59 and all of them are now from the ruling coalition. Apart from NDPP and NPF, the other constituents are BJP and two Independents. One seat is lying vacant as an MLA died.

    Following the NPF’s induction, the previous People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) government was renamed as Nagaland United Government.

    The NDPP, BJP, and NPF, which met on Monday, endorsed the concept of a “united government” to facilitate the Naga political issue and achieve an honorable and acceptable solution.

    ALSO READ |  NDPP invites opposition NPF to join govt in Nagaland to ‘corner’ ally BJP

    “The decision to accept the Opposition-less united government has been taken unanimously by the primary PDA partners, namely NDPP and BJP including 2 (two) Independent MLAs supporting the PDA government…Henceforth, the government shall be called Nagaland United Government,” a statement, issued jointly by NDPP, BJP, and NPF, stated.

    The Core Committee of the Parliamentary Committee on Naga political issue had earlier resolved and affirmed the joint united approach in achieving a solution to the Naga political issue. The NPF legislature party had also endorsed the concept of Opposition-less government.

    All the ruling parties resolved that they would aim at promoting the Naga peace talks with a positive approach and move forward under a positive environment towards finding the political solution at the earliest.

    “The political parties shall appeal to all Naga Political Groups (read insurgent groups) to make serious efforts towards unity and reconciliation. The political parties shall ensure unity of its members in the Assembly on the issue,” the statement reads.

    The statement said the ruling parties would impress upon the Central government and all negotiating groups to bring about the solution to a logical end.

    The Centre is separately holding the peace talks with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim or NSCN-IM and eight other groups which came together a few years ago under the banner of “Naga National Political Groups” or NNPGs.

  • Court to decide if 7 suspended Naga People’s Front MLAs can attend House session

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court will decide whether seven MLAs of opposition Naga People’s Front (NPF) in Nagaland can attend the forthcoming Assembly session.

    They had in 2019 defected to the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), which heads the state’s ruling coalition, and were subsequently suspended by the NPF.

    The Kohima bench of the Gauhati HC will on February 8 hear an interlocutory application filed by the NPF seeking the court’s interference in restraining the seven from attending the Assembly session beginning on February 12.

    A disqualification petition, filed against them by the NPF, was dismissed by Assembly Speaker Sharingain Longkumer in July last year which prompted the NPF to move the court challenging the Speaker’s judgment.

    The Speaker said there were no sufficient grounds to presume that the MLAs in question had voluntarily given up the membership of their original party, NPF. The NPF had filed the petition against the legislators in 2019 for willfully defying its collective decision on supporting the Congress nominee in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to the state’s lone seat.

    Ahead of that election, the seven MLAs had issued a written declaration that they would back the consensus candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) of which BJP is a partner.

    The NPF claimed the seven had willfully given up their party membership, thereby attracting provisions under the 10th Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution. These MLAs, however, said as the NPF’s decision to support the Congress candidate was “against the principle of regionalism”, they had backed the PDA candidate. The NPF had not contested the polls.

    The NPF had ruled the state for three terms on the trot from 2003 until the emergence of NDPP. Ahead of the 2018 polls, the NDPP had aligned with NPF ally BJP and other parties and ended the NPF’s victory run.