The ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) seems determined to continue with the so called Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) which is virtually non-existent. The NPF’s reluctance to let go of the DAN coalition even though there is actually no alliance partners left, may be attributed to the good fortune or luck of the DAN nomenclature. After all when it first came to power in 2003 after years of Congress rule in the State, it was the coalition partners under the DAN which allowed the NPF and its leaders to form a majority government and thereby enjoy the fruits of power. It was again the coalition of the NCP and BJP which helped propel the NPF to the magical simple majority mark to form the government for the second term. Remember that although it was the single largest party (both in 2003 and 2008), the NPF could manage to form a government on both occasions with valuable support of the DAN alliance partners and Independents. In fact if we may add here that the failure of the Nagaland Congress to patch up pre-poll alliance with smaller parties was largely responsible for its inability to get the numbers right. The NPF on the other hand having seen the value of smaller allies as experienced in the formation of the first DAN government, it continued to do the smart thing by going in for alliance partners, this time a pre-poll arrangement with both the BJP and NCP in the run up to the 2008 Assembly Polls. This too paid handsome dividend for the NPF in allowing it to get the required numbers for Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to form the government for a second term.
However, the wisdom of going in for coalition politics notwithstanding, it appears that the NPF is going against the very principle of the coalition mantra i.e. maintaining mutual trust, respect and accommodation among alliance partners. In a sense, the NPF appears to be going the way of the Nagaland Congress, which has always believed in going it alone and therefore in a way, ignoring the present realities of coalition politics. After almost a decade in power, the NPF obviously now sees itself as a dominant party, that if given a choice, it would much prefer to form a government on its own. Only time will tell if the people will vote for a single party or a coalition government. However the NPF party seems to be indecisive on what it actually wants. On the one hand it feels secure and comfortable with an NPF majority and to be on its own. The merger of the BJP and NCP MLAs along with their supporters to the NPF is clear indication of this thinking. However it seems unwilling to close its doors on future prospects for new allies and therefore the NPF President has publicly stated that the NPF will continue with the DAN coalition. This is fine as long as you have actual parties in the DAN with clear written agreement. Then you also need to have a Chairperson of the alliance, besides other mechanisms with sufficient members representing the political allies to address issues. The first DAN alliance post-2003 Assembly Polls was a coalition in the strict sense of the term. With the merger of the BJP and NCP MLAs to the NPF, the DAN alliance is all but over. For the NPF, this may well signal the end of its coalition era. After all that it has gained from its allies and the manner in which it has treated them, the question is whether in future, other political parties will even trust the NPF.
However, the wisdom of going in for coalition politics notwithstanding, it appears that the NPF is going against the very principle of the coalition mantra i.e. maintaining mutual trust, respect and accommodation among alliance partners. In a sense, the NPF appears to be going the way of the Nagaland Congress, which has always believed in going it alone and therefore in a way, ignoring the present realities of coalition politics. After almost a decade in power, the NPF obviously now sees itself as a dominant party, that if given a choice, it would much prefer to form a government on its own. Only time will tell if the people will vote for a single party or a coalition government. However the NPF party seems to be indecisive on what it actually wants. On the one hand it feels secure and comfortable with an NPF majority and to be on its own. The merger of the BJP and NCP MLAs along with their supporters to the NPF is clear indication of this thinking. However it seems unwilling to close its doors on future prospects for new allies and therefore the NPF President has publicly stated that the NPF will continue with the DAN coalition. This is fine as long as you have actual parties in the DAN with clear written agreement. Then you also need to have a Chairperson of the alliance, besides other mechanisms with sufficient members representing the political allies to address issues. The first DAN alliance post-2003 Assembly Polls was a coalition in the strict sense of the term. With the merger of the BJP and NCP MLAs to the NPF, the DAN alliance is all but over. For the NPF, this may well signal the end of its coalition era. After all that it has gained from its allies and the manner in which it has treated them, the question is whether in future, other political parties will even trust the NPF.
