With seven MLAs, NCP set to become main Opposition party in Nagaland

Verma said that at a time when the Congress could not win even one seat in Nagaland, his party’s winning the highest number of seats in the Opposition camp was a big achievement. “We contested 12 seats. While we won seven, we lost five seats by a very thin margin,” he said.

Another Maharashtra-based party, Union minister of state Ramdas Athawale’s Republican Party of India (Athawale), has won two seats in Nagaland. The RPI’s Vinod Nikalje was given the responsibility to handle the party’s Northeast activities. The party contested eight seats. While it won two seats, its candidates came in second spot in four constituencies.

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Pawar was joined by the late P A Sangma when he left the Congress to form the NCP. Sangma had handled the party’s matters in the Northeast till 2013, when he formed the National People’s Party (NPP). His influence across the region had earned votes for the party, helping the NCP attain national party status.

Additionally, Pawar being the Union Agriculture minister and his deputy Praful Patel being Union minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises resulted in the party gaining some foothold in Nagaland. Pawar’s close friend and present Lok Sabha MP Shrinivas Patil was a Governor of Sikkim from 2013 to 2018.

The NCP scored majority of its victories in the eastern parts of Nagaland.