With representatives from the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO) talk team yet to address the question of participation in the election following their recent meeting with Amit Shah, the rhetoric ‘no election without a solution’ is once again gaining traction. ENPO had earlier in August resolved to boycott all election processes of the center or state unless their demand for a separate Frontier Nagaland state is fulfilled.
Speaking to NorthEast Live, Nagaland People’s Action Committee (NPAC) convener Theja Therieh has said that along with the Eastern Nagaland, even the other tribes of Nagaland do not want election.
This is because, according to him, “democracy has failed us and has not been able to address our issues at the moment” and hence what is more significant is a solution to this entire problem.
“We want a solution that will be restorative in nature – that should restore and build and give us the system so that we will be able to correct the past and move ahead,” he said.
Therefore, he believes that pushing an election without solution and without addressing the issue of ENPO will not solve any problem and hence, the election will be meaningless.
Speaking on the ENPO’s decision to not participate in the election, he said, “I respect the sentiments of the Eastern Nagaland friends” and added that the grievances they have put forward are genuine.
“Perhaps, the government over the years has failed to address and give enough attention,” he reasoned.
“Maybe, we also failed to look into the grassroots of how people feel and how they have been suffering,” he added.
Speaking on the issue of ENPO meeting with the Union Home Minister, Therieh said that it depends upon how much the government respects the sentiments.
“We just don’t want a separate state – we are too small to be a state. Economically, it is difficult for us to sustain and as people we have been living together for years – I don’t see why we have to separate – we have to patch up,” he stated.
He then expressed hope over the reported Home Minister’s visit in January 2023 and hoped that they will genuinely listen to the grassroots and will assess the situation properly to unearth and understand the ailments that have caused such issues.
It is to be recalled that before the state polls of 2018, civil society and tribal bodies had agitated for an election boycott until peace talks yielded results. For a while, 11 parties signed a bond saying they would not field candidates – this plan fell apart when the Bharatiya Janata Party backtracked.
As election draws near, Chief Minister Rio in a function in November said he would not be campaigning for the assembly elections and prioritize the resolution of the “Naga political issue.” Similar opinions were also echoed by Chingwang Konyak, president of the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) who according to Scroll.in has claimed, “We have not started an election campaign because people want the solution first, not the election.”
Konyak was also further quoted as saying: “We don’t want to hurt the sentiments of the people. The Naga people are now fed up. They are trying for peace and a permanent solution. We are also watching whether anything can be worked out between the Centre and the two [Naga] factions.”
Moreover, only this September, the Central Nagaland Tribes Council also demanded the imposition of President’s Rule in the state, claiming that the BJP’s promise to Nagas with the slogan “Election for Solution” had not been fulfilled.
Nagaland not a big challenge to BJP: Senior Journalist Shekhar Iyer
Senior journalist Shekhar Iyer, a former Senior Associate Editor of the Hindustan Times and Political Editor of the Deccan Herald in New Delhi, told PGurus that Nagaland will not pose a significant challenge to the BJP before the Lok Sabha election in 2024. He said this on Saturday during a live stream with PGurus founder Sree Iyer on the subject, “What BJP needs to do to win decisively in Karnataka, Tripura, Manipur, and Nagaland.”
According to Shekhar Iyer, whatever party wins the state Assembly election in the North-Eastern states, they always vote for the party in the centre because “they are heavily dependent on central assistance and central funds.”
He did, however, mention that wherever the BJP is in a coalition party, there is a pressure to contest all seats and not submit to the regional party.
“The same problem is in Nagaland. There are political aspiration issues for the BJP,” he adds.
He went on to say that the North-East is crucial for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election in 2024 because Assam alone has 14 seats.
“Apart from that, 20-21 seats come from the North-East, so it is very important.”
“The BJP will definitely keep its focus on the North East, and will try to win Tripura as well as Meghalaya and Nagaland,” he added.
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