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Journalism of Courage
Once fierce rivals, Taditui Rangkau Zeliang and Neiphiu Rio now straddle the top echelons of Nagaland politics.
The 70-year-old Zeliang took over as one of the Deputy Chief Ministers of Nagaland on Tuesday. He and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio have been instrumental in shaping Nagaland’s political topography in the last two decades.
Both started together in the Congress but have been on opposite sides of the aisle, squaring off against each other. Things changed last year when Zeilang jumped ship to the Rio-led Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP).
A seven-time MLA who won his first Assembly elections in 1989, Zeliang was a Rajya Sabha MP between 2004 and 2008. He also served as a Cabinet minister in the S C Jamir-led Congress government. But he left the party in 2003 to form the Nagaland Congress. The party subsequently merged with the Naga People’s Front (NPF).
Rio was also a part of the NPF, serving as the CM from 2003 and 2014. After he became a Lok Sabha MP in 2014, Zeliang took over as the CM. His tenure, however, proved to be a rocky one and three years later he stepped down in the face of mounting pressure from tribal bodies who protested against his government’s attempt to hold urban local body polls with 33 per cent reservation for women.
He was back in the hot seat later that year after a floor test in the Assembly. The same year, leaders loyal to Rio formed the NDPP to oppose Zeliang.
In 2018, with Zeliang as its primary face, the NPF managed to emerge as the single-largest party in the House with 27 seats. But the NDPP-BJP alliance managed to form the government, edging out the NPP. Looking to seek a solution to the Naga political question, the NPF joined the BJP-NDPP alliance in 2021 to form an Opposition-less government.
In 2022, Zeliang led a group of 21 NPF MLAs to jump ship to the NDPP. Many saw it as a move for political survival. After this, the NPF’s strength in the House was reduced to four.
This time, Zeliang contested from his stronghold Peren but the scenario had entirely changed. In 2018, he was the incumbent Chief Minister and Rio’s rival. This time, he was on the side of the Rio-led NDPP. At a campaign rally in February, Zeliang said his decision to move to the NDPP was driven by the need to be a part of the ruling dispensation.
“Our alliance is good for the constituency and Peren district as a whole. The target is to sit on the side of the ruling Benches and not merely be an MLA,” he said.
