NDPP Breaks Silence, Finally

1. The contradictory opinions and claims of the NPF leadership since last year proves that their present tirades against the BJP and the NDPP are purely political vindictiveness since the BJP chose to ally with the NDPP and not the NPF although it was the ruling party at the time. Once the BJP understood that the masses are with the NDPP and struck an alliance with the party and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi named Neiphiu Rio as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the NDPP-BJP combine on February 22, 2018 at Tuensang, the NPF suddenly started criticizing the BJP as a communal, anti-Christian party. If the BJP was an anti-Christian and communal party, what was the erstwhile Cock party doing since 1977? The NPF’s tall claims of being the only regional party are unfounded, as they have always allied with one national party or the other. Apart from the BJP, the erstwhile NPC allied with the Congress to depose the then Chief Minister K. L. Chishi and set up an NPC-Congress Government with late Mr. Vamuzo as Chief Minister and Mr. I. K. Sema from the Congress as the Deputy Chief Minister in the 1990s. This partnership resulted in disqualification of a number of MLAs at the insistence of the party. History repeated itself in 2014 when 3 BJP legislators, despite being in alliance with the NPF, were disqualified at the behest of the NPF party. With such history, the NPF has no moral right to criticize neither the PDA Government nor the NDPP, and the NPF’s rhetoric is a clear sign of double-standard politics.

1. It is no secret that after the election campaign wherein the NPF went all guns blazing against the BJP by painting it in the most negative manner, the NPF again made all out attempts to partner with the BJP in its desperate attempt to form the Government. But true to its national image, the BJP not only strengthened the Alliance but also respected the mandate of the people by sticking to its pre-poll stand.

1. We would like to put to rest the false claim of Mr. T.R. Zeliang, on the issue of single largest party. The NDPP would like to highlight that the NDPP-BJP Alliance was a pre-poll alliance that had a seat sharing arrangement as one single entity where the two parties did not contest against each other in any constituency. The NDPP-BJP alliance entered into a seat sharing arrangement of 40:20, which was the first of its kind in Nagaland.

1. The NDPP-BJP prepoll Alliance won a combined number of 30 seats  (NDPP - 18 & BJP - 12) and securing a total of 4,08,056 votes (40.51%) out of 10,07,163 - the grand total of votes polled in the state, and clearly emerged as the single largest party. On the contrary, in the 26 seats that the NPF won, it garnered a total of 3,89,687 votes, which is 38.69 % of grand total of votes polled (10,07,163). Later, after the elections, it is public knowledge that the JD(U) and the NPP which are natural allies with the BJP in the NDA Government at the Centre, along with the lone IND legislator also extended their support to the NDPP-BJP combine thereby taking the total combine of pre and post poll alliance partners to 34 in the House of 60.

1. R. Zeliang also made a statement saying that he would stake claim to form the government. The NDPP would like to highlight the Justice Sarkaria Commission Report on Centre-State Relations with emphasis on Chapter 4 – Role of Governor. In section 11 of Chapter 4 which deals with the Choice of the Chief Minister, it is clearly mentioned in Point No. 4 as under quote: 

1. An alliance of parties that was formed prior to the Elections.

1. The largest single party staking a claim to form the government with the support of others, including “independents.”

1. A post-electoral coalition of parties, with all the partners in the coalition joining the Government.

1. A post-electoral alliance of parties, with some of the parties in the alliance forming a Government and the remaining parties, including “independents” supporting the Government from outside.

1. These conventions are self-explanatory and due process has been followed in installation of the PDA Government. Therefore, it is absolutely clear that the NDPP-BJP pre-poll Alliance was the single largest entity and selected in order of preference (as per 4.11.04 sub point 1). The numbers has proved majority with victory in 34 seats and it is further proved in the vote share. Finally it was proven in the temple of democracy, on the floor of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly on March 13, 2018 where Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio proved his majority by securing 33 votes against the 26 votes of the NPF. What more is there to prove?

(Issued by the NDPP Media & Communications Committee)