“The meeting unanimously agreed to give a free hand to chief minister Neiphiu Rio to choose a common candidate to represent all DAN parties,” a top NPF functionary said. However, the State BJP, which has been strongly pitching for a candidate from the party this time, insists that the final decision to let Rio a “free hand” would be taken up only in the next DAN meeting, which is yet to be fixed.
“Our Central leaders have also encouraged us to put up a candidate, but since we are in an alliance, we have to come up with a consensus candidate. We cannot afford to give the lone seat to the Congress,” said State BJP president Ato Yepthomi.
Meanwhile, with barely two months left for Nagaland to elect its new and lone Lok Sabha MP, the State’s two main political parties - Congress and NPF – have gone into election mode and gearing up their party organizations right down to the grass-root level.
EC likely to declare April 8 for Nagaland polls
According to highly placed NPF sources, the Election Commission is likely to declare April 8 as the date of polling for Nagaland State. Taking the lead, the Congress organized the first Nagaland State convention of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan (RGPRS) on January 31 last in Dimapur, in an attempt to firm up its organization at the grassroots level.
In an indication that the forthcoming general election would be a tight contest, DoNER minister Mani Shankar Aiyar who addressed the convention said it was very “crucial” that the Congress bag the State’s lone Lok Sabha seat.
Aiyar urged the State Congress to raise at least 5,000 RGPRS members in the next couple of months. The NPF party has also embarked on an intensive tour in two phases covering every district. The first phase tour was kicked off on Wednesday at the party central office, Kohima, and will cover Kohima, Phek, Kiphire, Tuensang, Mon, Dimapur and Peren districts. However, the search for a “winnable candidate” remains the primary concern for both the NPF-led DAN coalition and Congress as they are officially yet to declare their respective candidate.
The parties are likely to declare their candidates in the latter part of this month as majority of the State political leaders of various parties are presently outside Nagaland or leaving the State to attend different meetings and assignments.
Congress sources said former MP Asungba Sangtam is the frontrunner for the party ticket, while other names doing the rounds are sitting MP Wangyuh Konyak, former minister K Therie and former CLP leader I Imkong.
In the opposite camp, the NPF has CM Chang, former Nagaland commissioner TN Mannen, former ministers Thenucho and Bukchem Phom and, Toshi Wungtung (ENPO general secretary) as “strong contenders.” An NPF leader disclosed that even Education minister Nyeiwang Konyak was in the race for a party ticket.