On Monday, the BJP Nagaland issued Urban Local Body (ULB) tickets to 19 candidates from Dimapur, Chümoukedima, and Niuland districts. However, eighteen wards in Mokokchung town saw no candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mokokchung unit.
The BJP Nagaland has earlier declared that the party will nominate candidates in all wards of the Municipal and Town Councils within the 12 Assembly Constituencies currently represented by BJP MLAs. Despite this, the Mokokchung district BJP saw no candidates in Yimyu ward which is under the 28 Koridang Assembly Constituency.
According to S Bendang Aier, BJP Mokokchung president, the absence of candidates in Mokokchung town was due to an arrangement made between the NDPP and BJP. “We have agreed not to interfere with one another, and we are upholding this arrangement,” Aier stated.
The NDPP-BJP alliance experienced a setback in the recent Lok Sabha election, where Congress candidate Supongmeren Jamir won by a significantly large margin. Aier attributed this loss partly to religious perceptions. “The religious angle played a significant role in losing the Lok Sabha election. It is unfortunate that people perceive the BJP as anti-Christian because, at the end of the day, the BJP workers in Nagaland are also Christians,” he explained.
Many commentators on politics have attributed the victory of the Congress to alleged persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in other parts of India under the BJP-led Modi government.
“People are still hung up on the idea that BJP is anti-Christian. It is quite regrettable that religion and politics have gotten mixed up in our society this time,” Aier added.
The BJP will have candidates for Tuli Town Council, which is under the 21 Tuli Assembly Constituency represented by BJP MLA Pangjung Jamir.
Meanwhile, in Dimapur, Advisor Tovihoto Ayemi, while distributing the tickets, urged the karyakartas and all BJP units to take this as a golden opportunity to prove their commitment and unity in doing something positive for society. The advisor also urged those candidates who did not receive the BJP ticket to consider themselves as part of the BJP.
The BJP candidates for Dimapur Municipal Council included four women under reservation: Mewew Lasuh, Himlu Gonmei, Aghatoli Y Tuccu, and Kivikali H. Chishi. The four unreserved candidates were: Hokuto Zhimo, Pikuto K Kiho, Kuhoi Zhimo, V Khekato Awomi, and George Ayemi.
The ticket distribution event in Dimapur was attended by Abhay Kumar Giri, General Secretary (Org), BJP, and in-charge of Manipur & Nagaland; Benjamin Yepthomi, state president; and a host of party workers at the state and district levels.