The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the BJP will carry forward their pre-poll alliance in next year’s Assembly election in Nagaland, according to a joint statement issued by both parties on Tuesday evening.
Each will contest the same number of seats, 40 and 20 respectively, as in 2018. The North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convener and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed the tie-up through a tweet with the joint statement signed by Abu Metha, NDPP secretary general, and Nalin Kohli, BJP in-charge Nagaland.
NDPP president and chief minister Neiphiu Rio and BJP national president J.P. Nadda “mutually agreed” to continue the alliance for the forthcoming Assembly elections and there will be “no friendly contest” in any constituency.
Both Rio and Sarma met Union home minister in Parliament house on Tuesday.
The joint statement also said that a core committee would formulate the election strategy and which seats to contest by either party at an appropriate time.
The development ended speculations about the future of the alliance which had won 30 of the 60 seats — NDPP winning 18 of the 40 seats it contested and BJP 12 of the 20 it contested — in 2018.
They subsequently formed the government with the help of a JD(U) and an Independent MLA. The Naga People’s Front had won 26 seats but is today left with only four MLAs after 21 of them joined the NDPP in April.
The NDPP-led government is without an Opposition in the Assembly. The next election will be held in February/March.
