On September 20 when the Naga Peoples’ Front party led by the majority of the legislators including the Chief Minister TR Zeliang with Neiphiu Rio as the president conducted the party’s general convention. The convention was a show of strength and a process to legitimise their group against the other group led by former chief minister and party president Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu. That day the party claimed that they had the signed support of 32871 party members.
On the same day, consultative meetings were organised by the other group led by Liezietsu in almost all the district headquarters in the state probably to eclipse the other group’s convention. In one of the consultative meeting at the NPF central headquarters in Kohima, Liezietsu stated that the rival group conducting the convention was just a show and will not be tenable in the ECI. To strengthen his point of view he disclosed the number of active members that elected him during the general convention of the party in 2014 was only 5221 adding that those names were already submitted to the ECI.
Later, the ECI instead of giving a verdict directed both the groups to find a amicable solution internally as per the party’s constitution, while acknowledging that there was a clear split in the party. The provision in the party constitution for such cases is a general convention where active members will vote for the future of the party. Subsequently the group led by the beleaguered president Liezietsu also conducted a general convention in Kohima on Nov. 22. In this convention Liezietsu’s group claimed that they have the support of 21144 party workers. It was also another show of strength as that of Sep. 20 no doubt, but luckily for him none of the media in Nagaland questioned about his earlier figure of Active Members.
The NPF party has a two tier membership system; the primary and the active. The only criteria mentioned for active membership is that one should be a Primary Member of the party and that the registration is valid for 3 years. With two conflicting general conventions and submissions thereof the ECI is probably in for some serious scrutiny.
However, the truism is that a ruling party with the highest number of legislators is answerable not only to the primary and active party members their party but to the electorates and all the people of the state. It also behoves the leaders of both the groups who lead a party with the mandate from the people to get their figures right. It has come to a point where the integrity of the leaderships will be questioned by the people. It is a cliché that politics is dirty because even in politics boundaries are set and need to be regulated. In the past there has been allegations of misrepresentations with fictitious names and duplications. If true, then what will the future hold for the people when ruling party itself sets such examples.
