Becoming the first in the state, the NDPP-BJP alliance has officially released their respective list of candidates on Thursday for the upcoming elections to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, with no other major political parties yet to do so.
The Nagaland BJP witnessed significant discontent among aspiring candidates, particularly those who had just switched to the BJP in anticipation of party tickets, even taking their protests to the streets in the weeks leading up to the ticket distribution. The agitated BJP leaders demanded that the BJP receive more seats than the 20 allotted to it in the seat-sharing agreement with the NDPP.
However, the Modi government and the BJP have always been known for their ‘stubbornness’ and refusal to change their minds. The only time Modi reversed his decision was when he rolled back the three farm laws following a year-long protest from farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh during 2020-21.
Likewise, in a typical BJP fashion, pre-poll allies NDPP and BJP declared their candidates in a 40:20 seat-sharing arrangement as they did in 2018.
Few of the ‘protesting’ aspiring candidates, nevertheless, received the BJP tickets that includes Er Kropol Vitsu (15-Southern Angami II a/c), Konngam Konyak (44-Phomching a/c), and Cheong Konyak (46-Mon Town a/c).
Understanding Modi’s commitment to 20:40
The Modi-Shah partnership is known for its ‘centralized decision-making’ with all major decisions made at the level of Modi and Shah and then communicated to the rest of the team.
According to Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an independent global think tank based in Delhi, party sources have stated that “asking questions or raising doubts is strongly discouraged” and that “intense debates and discussions about various issues confronting the party or the party-led government at various party fora and meetings have been replaced with sermons from the top.”
As a result, it was unsurprising when Dy CM Y Patton expressed dissatisfaction with the NDPP-BJP joint statement stating that seat sharing was finalized in July 2022 without consulting the ‘BJP legislative karyakartas’.
Political scientists have argued that the BJP’s and RSS’s “unwavering focus on unity” may be the “secret sauce” of their success. Dissent and intra-party conflict are widespread. Leaders’ competing egos and factional feuds have splintered India’s parties. Leaders of successful regional parties have broken away from the Congress. But, so far, nothing of the sort has occurred with the BJP. And the last thing Modi wants to do is break a promise to an ally.
This also explains Modi’s commitment to his allies. Despite winning 75 seats in Bihar, the BJP allowed Nitish Kumar to become the Chief Minister whose JD(U) won only 42 seats. In Maharashtra, during the Shiv Sena-BJP debacle, despite the BJP’s large majority of 115, Eknath Shinde, a Sena member, was appointed Chief Minister.
And as many has suggested, Rio’s closeness with NSCN-IM is a cherry on the cake ultimately making Rio crucial in the process of solving the decades-old Naga political issue.
Furthermore, the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, devised electoral strategies that take into account micro details of constituencies when selecting party candidates and fielding candidates who will ensure electoral victory at any cost.