The United Democratic Alliance (UDA), comprising NDPP and BJP, in Nagaland has finalised its seat sharing arrangement ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the mountainous state on February 27.
Ruling alliance takes the lead
According to reports, the NDPP will contest 40 out of the total 60 assembly segments while the BJP will fight on the remaining 20 seats. The two alliance partners didn’t find it wise to make any changes and continued with the formula that they had adopted in 2018 assembly elections. Incidentally, the BJP has also finalised the candidates on its share of 20 assembly constituencies. The UDA led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has hit the ground running and hopes to retain power in the state.
In the last elections, the NDPP had won 18 seats, while the BJP had bagged 12 seats. There was hardly any opposition in Nagaland over the last five years, as 21 out of the 26 Naga People’s Front (NPF) had joined the UDA. Among the small players were the NPP with 2 seats and the JDU with 1 seat.
The BJP is hoping to make major gains in these elections on account of the partial lifting of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). However, at the same time, it has also suffered a setback with three of its district unit presidents switching loyalty and joining the JDU.
Also read: Assembly Polls: Tripura on February 16; Nagaland and Meghalaya Feb 27
Do-or-die battle for NPF & Congress
On the other hand, the Congress is trying to recover the lost ground in Nagaland, as the party had failed to open its account in the 2018 assembly elections. It had won eight seats in the 2013 assembly elections. The party had in the recent past also tried to forge an alliance with the like-minded groups in the state.
Apart from the Congress, the NPF, which is Nagaland’s oldest regional party, is making all the efforts to bounce back after losing 21 of its 26 MLAs to the ruling UDA alliance. Though its strength in the current assembly reduced to mere 5, it still has a lot of influence on sections of Naga society. The coming elections will be an acid test for the NPF which is also being wooed by the Congress to forge an alliance.
JDU, RJD also in the poll fray
Interestingly, the JDU’s alliance partner in Bihar, RJD, too is contemplating to jump into the poll fray in Nagaland this time. The party plans to contest elections on 11 assembly segments. The JDU had contested 14 seats in the last assembly elections in Nagaland. Though it could bag only one seat, its candidates performed well in five other assembly segments. The move was also seen as a part of the JDU’s attempt to attain the status of a national party.