The Nagaland Baptist Churches Council with its Clean Election Campaign was finally successful in making the political parties in the State to sign an 18-point pledge to clean the electioneering system that is currently prevalent in the State. There are many practices in Nagaland that people indulge in, both by the voters and the candidates during elections that are in contrast to the laid down elections rules and various codes of conducts. The recent pledge though with the use of religion but in a positive way has brought within the ambit of the Clean Election Committee of the NBCC to curb and control many of those undesired practices. The sudden exposure of the Nagas to elections immediately after the State was inaugurated did not fare well for the democratic ideals attached to elections. The Nagas were more acquainted to nomination by one’s clan and selection of untainted persons to various posts that were considered prestigious in their village republics than elections. In some case certain persons whose antecedents would not qualify for any traditional posts were free to contest in the new elections. Although many will not agree in the open but the new found religion of Christianity that taught about forgiveness to all may also have some bearing in some instances. Subsequently, in the world’s biggest democracy the smallest newly created state was generally divided on the lines of family, clan, khel, village, range and tribe during elections. Author M.Aram, has very clearly recorded the words of Rano Shaiza during the elections of 1969 when she contested against the sitting chief minister. “If the people in the coming elections vote for his clan, he should know that there would be no unity in his khel; if he votes for his village, there would be no unity in his area, group and tribe and if one votes in the name of his tribe, there will be no national unity. Just as Christ is the only unifying force of millions of Christians, so also what we need today in Nagaland is a spirit that can unite the people for resolving its differences with India, which is first and foremost”. However most of the people still fail to understand the deep rooted meaning of such a wise and eloquently uttered statement till today. Elections then on became power play between the various layers of minute divisions in the Naga society that somehow cleared the conscience of the participants because anything against one’s own starting from the family to the tribe was equivalent to waging war. On the other hand, the country itself was going through its own share of ailments and serious deliberations on corruption and criminalisation of politics started only after its attainment of 50 years after independence. Even in its 70th year a law is yet to be enacted that completely bars persons with criminal antecedents, since a difference of interpretation of a person’s right to contest elections exists between the Supreme Court and the Parliament. In such a scenario, for all those non performers in any other fields of professions, electoral politics becomes their answer. Nagaland was also not left behind in the power and money play. Every voter and every head count became important and along with it more and more bolder indulgences that were against the elections rules were witnessed with every passing election. Not only flouting of elections rules but also criminal activities saw an increase with every election amounting to loss of lives in some cases. The situation worsened with the coming of armed groups whose cadres actively indulged in the election process with cases of intimidations to voters and even threats to candidates. The unofficial but actual election expenditures of the candidates by the last elections has reached gargantuan figures. Therefore the recent 18-point pledge signed by the political parties in the CEC led campaign is with an objective to stop all these undesired as well as undemocratic and criminal activities during elections. Although some of the points might seem like overstepping by the church bodies the doubt should be used for benefit of the cause. On the other hand the CEC should also do a relook so that such instances will not cause seepages and thereby dilute those very important clauses that are almost sacrosanct in the pledge to avoid weakening the whole cause itself.
