Jharkhand BJP President and Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash beats a 'dhol' to celebrate the party's victory in Tripura, Nagaland Assembly polls and Ramgarh bypoll, in Ranchi. (Photo | PTI)
GUWAHATI: The NDPP-BJP alliance romped home in Nagaland, bagging 37 seats in the 60-member assembly. Repeating the winning formula of 40:20 to retain power for the second term in a row, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) won 25 seats, while BJP emerged victorious in 12 constituencies. The alliance had the same formula in the 2018 elections too.
The NCP and the National People’s Party (NPP) got seven and five seats, respectively, while The Congress failed to win any seat. While the NDPP secured a vote share of 32.22 per cent, BJP’s share was 18.81 per cent. “Congratulations to all the winning candidates of the Nagaland Assembly Elections 2023. As we have assured the electorates, let us pursue with sincerity to fulfil our goals and vision. May God Almighty help us,” NDPP leader and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said in a Twitter post.
BJP president JP Nadda said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership and Rio’s governance will ensure peace while reaching new heights of progress in the state once more, he said.
In Nagaland, the BJP was worried more about handling ally Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) because there is no opposition worth its name. That BJP-NDPP combine would return to power was a forgone conclusion. The Naga People’s Front (NPF), which ruled the state from 2003-18, got disintegrated last year when 21 of its 26 MLAs defected to NDPP.
Similarly, the Congress, a formidable force under former Chief Minister SC Jamir, got reduced to a shadow of its glorious past two decades ago. The Congress and the NPF virtually conceded defeat even before the polls by contesting only 23 and 22 seats, respectively.
Opposition is disintegrated
The victory of the BJP-NDPP combine returning to power was a forgone conclusion as there was no opposition worth its name. NPF got disintegrated last year when 21 MLAs defected to NDPP
