The BJP’s entry into Nagaland politics was heralded after 1990s when a little known advocate-turned-lawyer Pius Lotha first brought the saffron party into the State. From that hesitant and rather slow start, the BJP has come a long way. For the first time now, after so many years, it believes, it is in ‘striking distance’ now to capture power in this north-eastern State—which has for long faced militancy.
The flavour of the season is matchmaking as the BJP think tank in Nagaland—Ram Madhav and Kiren Rijiju—are working overtime to seal an alliance with both the Naga People”s Front (NPF) and a newly launched Nationalist Democratoc Progressive Party (NDPP).
The on-going peace talks between the Union Government and NSCN (IM) which got underway in 1997 during the Prime Ministership of IK Gujral are now practically “stalled”. All eyes—predictably—are on the State Assembly elections slated for February 27.
However, the Naga underground and tribal groups are now demanding boycott of elections but say the demand is not ‘anti-India’. “We are trying to build an argument for ‘Solution before Election’ on the issue of Naga Peace Accord,” one Naga Hoho leader informed the Organiser.
Not for the First Time
The demand of ‘boycott’ of Nagaland elections is not new. Exactly 20 years back, this demand was articulated in 1998 when Atal Behari Vajpayee Government was in the Centre.
The political parties remain confused on whether to boycott the polls as during such a demand in 1998, while regional parties NPC, NDM and BJP had stayed away from election process, the Congress party led by SC Jamir had filed nominations under foolproof security and had cakewalked to power.
“We have a bitter experience of 1998 and hence cannot take unilateral decision to stay away from election process,” Chingwang Konyak President of newly floated NDPP says. In the meanwhile, the Core Committee of Naga Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations which spearheaded the movement to defer ‘postponement’ of Nagaland polls along with other stake holders say, “This (poll deferment move) is not an anti-India movement”.
Theje Therie, the convenor of the Core Committee, insists in categorical language: “We are neither against India’s democratic process nor the constitutional process of the country. If election process sets on roll there will be lot of polarisation and those who are negotiating with the Government of India will also get polarised”.
But this ‘softness’, as suggested one way by rhetoric, does not sound convincing, as element of ‘force’ was definitely applied. Just before the day—political parties, representatives of NSCN (IM) and Naga Tribal Hohos met at Kohima on January 29—a strongly worded statement was issued that “vested interest and unscrupulous persons” should not force Nagaland towards elections.
On January 28, a joint statement was issued— signed by NSCN (IM) top representatives—and it said, “When Naga people as a whole have made the collective decision to forego election, we caution vested interest and unscrupulous persons not to sabotage the historical processes of negotiations by filing nominations and indulging in election process”.
Thus it would be erroneous to presume that representatives of 11 political parties who attended the January 29 meeting at Kohima had any option but to sign the dotted line that is putting a virtual ban on intending candidates filing the nominations.
Was it all voluntary? The answer to this vital question lies in the womb of time.
In other words, no one knows for certainty whether any ‘pressure’ emotive and otherwise was applied on the likes of Alemtemshi Jamir, working president of newly floated NDPP and Imkong, a former Nagaland Congress chief to sign the paper on poll boycott.
Interestingly, the 11 signatories included representatives also from LJP, a fledgling Bihar-based party led by Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Signatories included one from the BJP too—Kheto Sema. Of course it is a different chapter that the BJP wasted no time to make it clear that it is not in favour of poll boycott.
Church Lobby Behind Boycott?
Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav said in Delhi that Kheto Sema was not authorised by the party to sign any such paper. The saffron party also directed its Nagaland unit to ‘suspend’ Kheto Sema with immediate effect.
Amid all these a question remains whether the Tribal Hohos are demanding ‘poll boycott’ at the instance of NSCN (IM) and possibly the powerful church lobby.
In this pre-dominantly Christian State, church has been always an influential body, but it is altogether a different chapter to assess whether a clear answer is possible to these queries. Nevertheless some interactions reveal some interesting socio-political paradox about Nagas and their politics.
“We are definitely not against the BJP as a political party…..but the saffron party’s Hindutva
fundamentalism is a major concern,” says a pastor in a local Baptist Church near Dimapur. However, a faculty member in a local Theology College on the condition of anonymity told this magazine: “No one is against the BJP per se. We appreciate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Swachh Bharat Abhiyan…….as a result most Theological Colleges in the State and perhaps in rest of India have endorsed the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan as a campaign that aims to make Clean India a people’s movement”.
That way, it goes without saying that the BJP’s acceptability in Nagaland has increased manifold. Therefore, it is not surprising that the BJP has asked its former ally Naga People’s Front (NPF) to spare 15 seats in the 60-member Assembly.
But having said these, it may be mentioned that there are some groups of tribal leaders and also owing to allegiance to church leaders who are trying to suggest that ‘boycott of elections’ will hit Modi’ image and also hit at the support base of the BJP in north-east. “Is it for opposing BJP and its politics, I do not know. But there is a powerful Christian lobby who are keen to project the BJP in poor light,” says a longtime RSS sympathiser from Rajasthan—whose family has been also in business in Nagaland for last 70 years.
Erroneous Demand
On a different plane, according to BJP leadership, the demand for poll boycott is erroneous. In fact, a day after major row was sparked over poll boycott in Nagaland by various tribal Hohos and tribal parties, the Union Government asserted that election will “facilitate the on-going peace talks”.
“We believe that peaceful election in Nagaland will facilitate the on-going peace talks and strengthen our commitment”, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in a tweet. He further said holding of timely election is a constitutional process and the Government is bound by the constitution.
The Naga groups who have tried to make a virtue of their demand for poll boycott now have tried to only build up a pressure for staying away from election process. This lobby had announced one day shut down on February 1 across the State to give a further push to their demand for ‘poll boycott’.
Most political parties have actually started election process and have been working overtime to finalise candidates and work out possible electoral alliance.
Even NPF leaders say ‘poll
boycott’ may not help the cause of expediting the Naga peace talks.
Bishnu Bhattacharjee, President of Minority Wing of NPF notes, “Our party president Shurozelie has made it absolutely clear that our party will prepare for the elections, but we do not want to repeat the mistake of 1998 when we boycotted the polls and Congress by default came to power. And our Cock symbol was freezed by the Election commission.”
In the meanwhile, a number of citizens opined the political confusion is only a culmination of ‘political opportunism of leaders’ and pointed out that true development in Nagaland could not come due to corruption and self-centred politics of the ‘neta class’.
Mughalu Kiwime, a theology teacher says, “Even developed towns like Mokokchung could not develop due to corruption and in sincerity of those in power.”
A sentiment of pessimism has hit businessmen in Nagaland. Neingulie Angami from Kohima says, “People of the state are used to corruption and they are concerned about it. There is a feeling that one day this anguish will turn into an outburst against the prevailing system.”
-Swati Deb in Kohima/Dimapur
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