Our Correspondent
Kohima, Jan. 31 (EMN): The Naga People's Front (NPF) on Monday announced its list of candidates for the upcoming Manipur Legislative Assembly election after the party’s working committee meeting at its Central Office in Kohima.
Addressing a press conference, NPF Secretary General Achumbemo Kikon said that the working committee was supposed to meet on February 2 to discuss about the candidates for the upcoming Manipur elections but the meeting was rescheduled to Monday due to political exigencies.
He said that the party had decided to contest only in 10 out of the 11 Naga-inhabited constituencies in Senapati (3 seats), Ukhrul (3 seats), Chandel (2 seats) and Tamenglong (3 seats), as it doesn’t want to issue tickets and contest just for the sake of it but want to ensure that whoever is selected have good prospect of winning.
The NPF announced the following 10 candidates for the Manipur election 2022:
The party’s Ticket Selection Committee, which was set up in November last year, submitted its recommendations to the its Central Office after scrutinising as many as 40 applications and extensively studying the prospect of the party in each constituency as well as the candidates contacting the party functionaries, civil societies and well-wishers, with an aim to double the number of its legislators in the state from the current four, Kikon said.
The search committee’s recommended candidates were then placed at the Working Committee’s meeting on Monday before being finalised.
He claimed that NPF has influence not only in the Naga-inhabited areas in the state but also in as many as 25 constituencies, including those in the valley (Imphal) like Heingang, Khurai, Thangmeiband, Keishamthong, Yaiskul, Sekmai (SC), Lamsang and Konthoujam with a sizable number of Naga voters ranging from 1000 to 4000, and that they will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of the candidates.
He added that the party has supporters from non-Naga communities in constituencies like Jiribam, Saikul, Kangpokpi, Saitu, Henglep and Churachandpur.
‘Despite having the influence, we don’t want to be ambitious; this is a party with a difference with certain objectives to bring a lasting honourable solution to the Naga issue and also bring peace to the entire Northeast region,’ he said, adding that it was the reason for zeroing down to Naga-dominated areas while awarding the party tickets.
Hinting at the possibility of the NPF and BJP coming together again to form the government, in case of a hung verdict in the upcoming elections, Kikon stated: “There's no open alliance as such with any other political party but our understanding with the BJP continues because our members – MLAs -- are still part of the government.”
“We (NPF and BJP) cannot fight head-on; we have to go on a certain level of understanding. That understanding remains as we are a part of the same government but there is no question of open kind of alliance. In some constituencies where they (BJP) have also filed their candidates, it may be a harsh fight but will be a friendly fight with all seriousness,” he added.
When asked if Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had suggested a pre-poll alliance with the NPF, Kikon said that the need for an adjustment was mooted wherein the party had to concentrate only in 10 seats out of 60.
“It’s an unspoken concession on our part that we are not fielding in another 50 seats, so they (BJP) should understand us better than we understanding them,” he said.
The secretary general informed that the first phase of ticket distribution will be held at the NPF Central Office in Kohima on February 2 as the notification for the first phase of election will be issued on February 1 and for the second phase on February 4.
All the constituencies the party is contesting will go to the polls in the second phase on Match 3.
He went on to say that the party is fully prepared for the polls and is working on the election manifesto which will be out soon.
It may be mentioned that the NPF entered Manipur’s political scenario in 2011 before going on to win four seats in its first attempt in the state assembly polls in 2012 and the same number in 2017. The incumbent MP (Lok Sabha) Dr Lorho Pfoze won from the outer Manipur Parliamentary constituency on NPF ticket in 2018.
The elections to the 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly will be held in two phases -- on February 27 and March 3.