Former Nagaland CM Shurhozelie Liezietsu wins Assembly bypoll

Former Nagaland chief minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu is contesting on a NPF ticket. (File)

Former Nagaland chief minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu, who was dismissed on July 19 by the majority Naga People’s Front (NPF) legislators, on Thursday won the by-election to the state assembly from the Northern Angami-I constituency, defeating his lone Independent rival Kekhrie Yhome by a margin of 3,470 votes. While Liezietsu polled 8,026 voters, his opponent Yhome got 4,558 votes. The by-election was necessitated due to the resignation of sitting MLA Khreihu Liezietsu to make way for his father Shurhozelie’s entry to the state assembly after he had become chief minister on February 22 this year.

But even as Shurhozelie Liezietsu – who is also president of the NPF – had filed his nomination papers, a section of NPF legislators led by former chief minister TR Zeliang revolted against him, leading to his ouster on July 19, hardly 10 days ahead of the by-election.

The 81-year old Liezietsu, who had practically retired from active politics in 2013 and preferred to remain only president of the NPF, had to step in when intra-party rebellion had led to resignation of TR Zeliang as chief minister in February this year.

Though the NPF has suffered a split – which is yet to be formally accepted – and Liezietsu removed from the chief minister’s post, he managed to win the election with a comfortable margin especially because the Zeliang faction did not carry out any campaign against him. Moreover, the Congress too gave a walk-over by not fielding any candidate against him, leaving only Kekhrie Yhome, a newcomer to politics, in contest.