Contesting the Nagaland Assembly elections in a 40:20 seat-sharing arrangement, like they did in 2018, allies Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and BJP declared their candidates on Thursday. The running mates became the first to release their candidate lists in the state, with other major political parties yet to do so. Of the 60 fielded by them, 34 won last time. The NDPP had won 16 out of the 40 seats it contested in 2018. Its list includes 22 sitting MLAs, including 10 who won on tickets of other parties last time – one on the NPP ticket, one Independent, one from the JD(U) and seven as Naga People’s Front (NPF) candidates. The BJP had won 12 out of 20 seats in 2018, and has 11 who won last time in its list. In the weeks leading up to the ticket distribution, the Nagaland BJP had seen considerable discontent among aspiring candidates – especially those who had crossed over to the BJP recently in expectation of tickets – translating into protests on the streets. Some party offices were sealed due to fear of violence as angry leaders demanded that the BJP get more than the 20 seats allotted to it in the seat-sharing with the NDPP. However, very few of those pushing for this expansion have got tickets. Those who have include Kropol Vitsu (Southern Angami II seat), Konngam Konyak (Phomching) and Cheong Konyak (Mon Town). The NPF will be releasing its candidate list tomorrow. The NDPP has two women in its candidate list – lawyer Hekani Jakhalu (Dimapur-III seat) and Salhoutuonuo Kruse (Western Angami), whose late husband Kevisekho Kruse contested from the seat in 2018. The BJP’s lone woman candidate is Kahuli Sema, who was engineer-in-chief at the Public Works Department and opted for voluntary retirement last year. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio from the NDPP will again be contesting from Northern Angami II while Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton from the BJP will contest from Tyui. State BJP president Temjen Imna Along has also been renominated, from Alongtaki. Also among the BJP’s candidates is Imkong Imchen, who was elected as MLA on an NPF ticket in 2018 and subsequently joined the NDPP. Last month, he resigned as MLA and joined the BJP.
