The bugle has sounded for assembly elections in the states of Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya. The Election Commission on India (ECI) has announced that the polling of general elections to the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland, 2023 will be held on February 27 and the results will be declared on March 2.
This was announced by the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and S Arun Goel through a press conference this evening at Rang Bhawan Auditorium, Akashvani Bhawan, New Delhi.
Nagaland Assembly election 2023 Schedule:
· Date of issue of gazette notification: January 31, Tuesday
· Last date of making notifications: February 7, Tuesday
· Date for scrutiny of notifications: February 8, Wednesday
· Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: February 10, Friday
· Date of elections: February 27, Monday
· Date of counting: March 2, Thursday
· Date before which election shall be completed: March 4, Saturday
The ECI also said that the last date for filing of nomination will be February 7, and candidates can withdraw their nominations till February 10.
Meanwhile, it was also announced that the general elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Tripura and Meghalaya will be held on February 16 and 27 respectively.
These are the first of nine Assembly elections in a year that is expected to provide some signs of the country’s political mood and is seen as the semifinal before the mega battle in 2024 for Lok Sabha.
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram will also hold elections later this year.
Nagaland has 59 Scheduled Tribes (STs) seats and one general seat, and over 13 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
Model Code of Conduct comes into effect
Meanwhile, with the Election Commission of India announcing the schedule for conduct of general elections to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, the Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland, V Shashank Shekahr IAS has informed that the Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately.
The CEO Nagaland stated in a press release on Wednesday that all the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct will be applicable to the whole of Nagaland with regard to all candidates, political parties, the State Government and to the Union Government.
Why Northeast election is crucial for Modi’s BJP
Despite their tiny size, the four Northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Mizoram, which provide a total of six Lok Sabha seats, will set the tone for national politics. It will not only dispel the image of the BJP as an “anti-Christian party,” but it will also demonstrate that, contrary to popular belief, the BJP is more than just a Hindu party.
Most importantly, as territorial tensions with China rise, the BJP is keen to expand its presence in the Northeast, where various insurgent groups are reportedly operating and seeking refuge in China. Modi recognized the North Eastern states’ potential as a bloc, and since then, crores of rupees have been spent on building infrastructure in the region, connecting it to the rest of the country via highways and air connectivity.
Furthermore, given the Modi government’s close relationship with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who spent his career as a spy in the North-East region and was influential in the signing of the 1986 Mizo Accord, bringing peace to Mizoram after a 20-year insurgency, the North East becoming strategically important to the Modi government comes without a doubt.
Since Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, his government’s efforts to integrate the North East cannot be overlooked. In 2014, when PM Modi was the chief guest at the much-celebrated Hornbill festival, it was this state and region that made Modi to abandon Hindi, Bharat Mata Ki Jai, and beef politics.
He spoke in English to the gathering in Kisama, a departure from his usual practice of speaking in Hindi, even during foreign tours. He even invited the crowd to join him in singing the Naga nationalist slogan ‘Kuknalim,’ which means ‘victory to Nagalim’.
Many saw his speech as an attempt to reach out to the state’s secessionists (Naga nationalists), who had been involved in a number of insurgencies since India’s independence (who had been demanding a separate homeland for the Naga people). True in part, but the larger goal was to make the BJP palatable as a party of Nagas. It was only one chapter in the wider story of the BJP’s Northeast mission.
How BJP performed in Nagaland Assembly elections 2018
The Nationalist Democratic People’s Party (NDPP) and the BJP contested the elections together. While the BJP won an unprecedented 12 seats, the NDPP’s Neiphiu Rio became the Chief Minister.
Seats won in 2018 and vote share:
· NPF – 26 (38.78%)
· NDPP – 18 (25.30%)
· BJP – 12 (15.31%)
· Independents – 1 (4.28%)
· JD (U) –1 (4.49%)
. NPP – 2 (6.9%)
Early on, the BJP recognized the significance of regional partnerships. In 2016, it joined forces with the Naga People’s Front, the Sikkim Democratic Front, the People’s Party of Arunachal, the Asom Gana Parishad, and the Bodoland People’s Front to establish political coalitions.
Moreover, the northeast’s voting history shows that it generally wants to stay with the Centre for financial and security reasons, which explains the growing number of BJP members. Last but not least, the Act East policy was unmistakably the path that led to the BJP’s victory.