Merger with NDPP was unconditional—S Toiho Yeptho

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  S Toiho Yeptho  (EM Images)

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• KOHIMA — Close on the heels of merging with the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson and sitting legislator S Toiho Yeptho on Monday clarified that the merger was ‘unconditional’.
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• Speaking to journalists, Yeptho, who is also the incumbent Deputy Speaker of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA), said, “Actually, it was impending,” while explaining that there was only one NCP during the period when the then-NCP legislators contested the 2023 general election.
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• The NCP legislators who merged with the NDPP on May 31 include Namri Nchang, Picto Shohe, Y Mhonbemo Humtsoe, Y Mankhao Konyak, A Pongshi Phom, P Longon, and S Toiho Yeptho.

Also read: 7 Nationalist Congress Party MLAs in Nagaland merge with NDPP

• “Unfortunately, I would call it a split of the NCP into the Ajit Pawar section and the Sharad Pawar section,” he lamented, adding that since Ajit Pawar was aligned with the NDA and the Nagaland government, and as the NDPP was in alliance with the BJP, it was natural for the state NCP legislators to support Ajit Pawar.
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• Yeptho maintained that when the two sections of the NCP were fighting it out in the Election Commission of India (ECI), the support of the Nagaland NCP legislators mattered a lot, leading to Ajit Pawar securing the original NCP’s legitimacy as the case went to the Supreme Court.
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• “When Ajit Pawar needed us, we were there for him. It is not a good word, but I would say we have ditched Sharad Pawar ji, but we still love him; we still respect Sharad Pawar. And in the same way, even now, no love is lost—we love Ajit Pawar, we love Praful Patel, even if we have left them and merged with the NDPP,” he said.
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• Yeptho explained that the seven NCP MLAs, knowing that Nagaland has an opposition-less government, still felt the NDPP and BJP—due to their seat-sharing agreement—were manning the government. “I, as a fortunate person, am the only one holding the post of deputy speaker. Apart from me, nobody is holding any post,” he said.
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• He added, “So it is not that we have any enmity or ideological clashes with the central NCPs. However, we feel that we are neither here nor there—we are neither involved in national politics, nor can we play a major role in state politics by being in the NCP. So we feel that in the state of Nagaland, we need a strong regional party to voice our concerns at the national level.”
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• “We need a strong regional party, and at today’s juncture, NDPP is, no doubt, the strongest regional party in Nagaland. Our leadership—especially Neiphiu Rio—has also been strengthened by our merger. And for our own reasons too, we are now part of the mainstream,” said the newly joined NDPP legislator.
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• Asserting that giving back to their respective assembly constituencies has also become a major question, Yeptho added that while in the NCP, neither the NCP central leadership in Delhi or Mumbai helped with any projects, nor did they get much help from the chief minister or other ministers. “Even if we were in the NCP, we were like a subsidiary party.”
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• He clarified that now, after merging with the NDPP, “we are in the mainstream, and our sole focus is to do something for the constituency—for the aspirations of our people—to fulfil at least some of them. So now, after merging with the NDPP, we have strengthened the hands of the honourable chief minister.”
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• Won’t create ripples
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• Meanwhile, Yeptho also stated, “We have not joined or merged with the NDPP to create any ripples in the government. It was an unconditional merger. Let me be very clear—it was an unconditional merger.”
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• He asserted that it is the prerogative of the chief minister whether he wants to accommodate any of them.
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• “Our merger should not be seen as an attempt to demand plum portfolios, bargain for posts, or vie for power,” said Yeptho, adding, “We don’t want to create any disturbance in the already functioning government. Our intention is not to disturb others.”
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• Clarifying on the speculation of a government reshuffle, Yeptho stated, “Some may consider it as a plan to dump someone and bring new changes to the government. But as far as the seven of us are concerned, we have no such intention. And we request our other parties who are supporting Rio’s government not to feel left out or that there is a plan to sideline them.”
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• “Everything will function as it was functioning before,” he said.
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• Further, he added that they had followed all steps under the constitutional provisions before the merger, which required a two-thirds majority, but in their case, it was 100%.