As scrutiny of the nomination of the candidates begins, the Sangtemla Ward Yimden in Mokokchung town today held a ‘common public platform’ at Mokokchung Town Hall for its three candidates: NDPP candidate I Tali Longkumer, INC candidate I Temsu Jamir, and Independent candidate Alemtuba Imsong.
In a positive development, the public forum addressed the issue of village-based and clan-ism politics, although not in depth. Insiders have confided to this newspaper that there have been reports of alleged coercion to support particular candidates based on village affiliations. These divisive practices undermine the electoral process by fostering bias and favoritism rather than focusing on the merits of the candidates or their policies—a long-standing issue in the practice of electoral politics in Mokokchung. Therefore, even though the discussion was not extensive, Sangtemla Ward’s attempt to address this issue on a public platform was a welcome step.
The common public platform, according to Chairman of Sangtemla Ward Imliyanger Jamir and Secretary Watitoshi Ao, was a “small step to propagate clean elections” while giving the residents of the ward an opportunity to hear the three candidates’ visions.
“The election process in Nagaland is still in the nascent stage,” said Watitoshi, noting that the common public platform was a small attempt to make the election process smoother and more transparent. “An initiative like the common platform is needed for a clean election. I strongly believe that this is a way to hold the candidates accountable for what they say and promise,” he continued.
However, both Imliyanger and Watitoshi admitted that the turnout was “not very satisfactory.” This was also acknowledged by NDPP candidate I Tali Longkumer, who attributed the low turnout to citizens attending church. Longkumer also opined that perhaps the youth did not turn out as there was a mass declaration for the fellow opponent Alemtuba while his party workers may not have turned up because they had already heard his agendas during his declaration program.
Watitoshi suggested that the low turnout was perhaps because “showing solidarity in public” was not a common practice among the people, although they were heavily invested. But these were not the sole reasons.
During the gathering, the ward Chairman Imliyanger Jamir discouraged candidates and citizens from engaging in “village-ism” and “clan-ism,” trends prevalent in Mokokchung.
When asked about these concerns, the Chairman acknowledged the natural inclination of voters towards candidates from their own village. However, he expressed optimism that in the current election, voters from the same village might not necessarily support the candidate solely based on village affiliation. Echoing the Chairman’s sentiment, Watitoshi noted that the election process had commenced positively, and as far as they were aware, none of these issues had surfaced yet. Nonetheless, he admitted that he could not be entirely confident that such issues would not arise in the future.
Alemtuba Imsong, the Independent candidate, while speaking at the common platform, also stressed that clan-ism and village-ism should not be an issue in this day and age and urged the elders to lead in the right path for the youths to follow.
Temsu Jamir also advocated for “corruption-free” governance and said no “village politics” must be set in play but rather encouraged “progressive governance,” particularly directed towards youths.
Meanwhile, Tali Longkumer admitted that there are signs of village-based politics taking shape in the ward but, fortunately, there haven’t been any “consensus” candidates in the ward.
Longkumer opined that village-based politics reflects poorly in democracy and hoped that the Sangtemla Ward residents would identify themselves with the ward. “Generally, in our society, village-based politics often occurs when it is a big village versus small village. So, when the big village starts playing village-based politics, the small villages have no other choice but to come together,” he opined.
However, he also acknowledged this was an unhealthy practice and vouched for judging on the basis of the merits of the candidate. Longkumer also said he was standing there not for himself but for the people and shared his vision to uplift the downtrodden section of society.
Alemtuba, the 34-year-old, the youngest candidate from Sangtemla Ward, focused on empowering youths. He asked the elders, “Is it not a waste that our elders spend so many resources to educate us but do not give us duties?” He asserted that the youths are ready and asked, “Shouldn’t the elders pass on the duties to us (youths)?” He further urged for unity in society and working together in the rapidly changing world.
Temsu Jamir stressed on a diverse range of issues in Mokokchung town, with water scarcity being the most significant one. He acknowledged that the municipality alone may not be able to solve the water scarcity problem of Mokokchung by bringing in large projects, but he said such matters will be looked into if he is elected. Jamir also highlighted the degrading aesthetics of the town, which ultimately led to concerns about sanitation. He stressed the high number of dropouts and shared his interest in organizing seminars, skill development trainings, and promoting e-commerce.
