In an unprecedented move, 11 political parties in Nagaland has decided not to participate in the February 27 Assembly elections until the ongoing Naga political process reaches its desired goal.
Political parties, including the ruling Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF) and the BJP, have unanimously decided not to distribute party tickets or file nominations for the Assembly elections.
“We have decided to go by the peoples’ wishes... The solution to the Naga political process is the priority and everyone wants it to reach the desired goal,” said NPF president Dr Shurhozelie liezietsu while admitting his party’s solidarity with the move.
The other political parties supporting the resolution are: the Congress, the United Naga Democratic Party (UNDP), the Nagaland Congress, the AAP, the National Democratic Political Party (NDPP), the NCP, the lJP, the JD(U), the National People’s Party (NPP).
“We firmly believe that it is expedient for all the political parties, both national and regional, to come together in the greater interest of the State in solidarity with the call ‘Solution before election’ and defer the election and allow the Naga political process to reach its logical conclusion by giving space and time to the negotiating groups to bring out an early solution,” said a joint statement issued by the 11 political parties on Monday.
The Nagaland legislative Assembly had in December year urged the Central Government to find a solution to end the crisis before the elections. Following this, several socio-political organisations in the Hill State had appealed the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to defer the Assembly elections till the peace talks reach its desired goal.
The NSCN (I-M) and the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations (CCNTHCO) have also issued a joint statement cautioning “unscrupulous” persons with “vested interests” to not sabotage the process of negotiations by filing nominations and indulging in the election process, when the “Naga people as a whole” had made the collective decision to forgo it.
The NSCN (IM), who has been fighting for a Nagalim or ‘Greater Nagaland’ signed ceasefire agreement with the Government of India in 1997 and held several rounds of talks with the Central Government in India and abroad as part of talks. The BJP-led NDA Government had in 2015 signed a “framework agreement” with the NSCN (IM), which is however, yet to be made public.