Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 14
In a astonishing hijack of the DAN coalition’s dreams of arriving at an “amicable” settlement to decide upon a ‘consensus candidate’ for the bye-elections to the vacant Dimapur-1 Assembly Constituency and 54 Tuensang Sadar-II Assembly Constituency, it is learnt that several candidates from a single party are ‘wrestling’ for a ticket, each demanding to be the ‘consensus candidate’. Reflective of this dilemma, a search committee has been set up by the coalition to “search” and “finalize” who the consensus candidate should be.
Of the parties faced with the dilemma of choosing only one candidate for both the vacant assembly constituencies, a list uncovered by The Morung Express found majority party NPF neck-deep in the headache: Three names are vying for a ticket for the Dimapur-1 seat while for the Tuensang Sadar-II seat there are, most surprisingly, five NPF candidates. The BJP, sharing a major slice of weight in the DAN coalition, has only one name forwarded for Tuensang while two names have been listed for the Dimapur-1 seat to contest the bye-elections.
Highly reliable sources in the know of affairs of the NPF-led DAN alliance disclosed that, especially for the all-important Dimapur-1 seat, although NPF Nagaland Youth Spokesman Atomi Zhimomi was touted as the ‘hot’ contender to be the ‘final consensus candidate’, the party is actually grappling with the dilemma with two others vying for NPF tickets. The other two are Press Secretary to Chief Minister, Abu Metha and NPF CEC member Kakugha (Kaka) Zhimomi, giving Atomi Zhimomi – also a son of Nagaland Industries Minister Khekiho Zhimomi – a run for his electorate.
The NPF is also faced with the same problem in Tuensang – this time with five names “waiting” for a NPF ticket. Of the five names listed by the NPF for Tuensang, Rakihila Lakiamong, wife of late MLA & DUDA Chairman Lakiamong, is touted to be the forerunner, thanks to what an insider said “the NPF promised her an NPF ticket as soon as her husband died.”
She joined the NPF a few days later after her husband passed away. When the late MLA died, the NPF party “promised’ her a ticket to contest the seat left vacant by her husband and basing on this, she is expecting that the ticket for the Tuensang Sadar-II seat be given to her “as promised”.
