The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Side of Election in Nagaland
Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 27
“My vote was cast by a proxy voter and I was compelled to give tendered vote,” Arep Changkija, a resident from Supply Colony wrote in a complaint letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) after finding his vote already cast in polling station (PS) number 10 under Dimapur – II.
In another polling booth in Longsa Village under Mokokchung, women choir set up an impromptu stage and sang hymns throughout the polling period for peaceful and clean election.
Such diverse and opposing narratives unfolded as Nagaland experienced ‘The Good, The Bad & The Ugly’ side of election as its citizens went to vote on February 27 to elect their representatives to the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly. The electoral process therefore was a success for some or an abject failure for others depending on one’s vantage point.
The Good
Social media and ground reports on Tuesday were full of voters sharing their experiences and opinions regarding the day’s proceedings.
A popular local artist was seen singing one of his songs, a caustic social commentary, outside a polling station at Longpa village, Mokokchung to the entertainment of those in the queue.
The Nagaland Home Commissioner shared a photo of a woman said to be 96-yr-old in Tichibami under Zunheboto district, coming to exercise her vote.
At Tongdentsuyong ward in Mokokchung, a 104-year-old voted while two other centenarians voted in Kohima district. “Voted for NOTA (None Of The Above) cause it will be a shame on me if I vote for any of them. None of the candidates is worth supporting. They only know how to buy votes. I can shout with evidence from the top of the roof,” read a Facebook post of a young voter.
Ao, another voter, updated on her social media account that in one PS in Lengrijan under Dimapur II, the young officer manning the booth and checking the ID refused to allow voters whose voter’s slips and ID cards did not match. “I was told by my daughter that he had turned away many others earlier too.”
At Yoangyimsen village under Arkakong constituency, a group of church workers stood on the sideline waving white flags urging the voters to stand for clean election.
One presiding officer in Signal Bosti, Dimapur while taking a tea-break, was seen discussing with a polling agent the prospect of each party till then. An informed person in the queue pointed out to them that it is against the electoral protocol.
The Bad
Discrepancies, however, were aplenty. An elderly woman at Fellowship colony, who voted at polling station 10 in Dimapur, also narrated that while she was exercising her franchise, a person having access to the polling booth breaking electoral protocol stood near, and when she voted for a particular candidate, he sneered and remarked, “Waah.”
Her neighbor’s family was not so lucky – their votes were already gone when they went to the polling stations to celebrate the ‘elections.’
In spite of technological progress, proxy voting continued unabated. Polling stations where strict observance of protocol was observed were being cursed.
Yet, in Wokha A/C, a voter informed nonchalantly that she cast six votes. In Sanis A/C, another cast at least 10, but lost count eventually. Voters reason, “If we don’t give proxy votes, other parties will anyway make use of the votes of those who are not present.”
Somewhere in a polling station in Kohima, party agents shouted outside the gate, “Acha proxy dibo thaka khan olop rukhibi. Genuine voters khan kei ekbar first chance dibi!!” (Those of you who are going to cast proxy, please wait. Give chance to the genuine voters first).
It was a ‘One person, many votes carnival.”
The Ugly
Village affinity is thicker than clean election. A video widely shared on social media showed a group of people from a village under Angetyongpang Constituency, sternly warning others not to vote for a particular candidate who is not from their village.
A family from Dimapur eagerly went to their village in Wokha district to exercise their franchise. They were stopped midway and not allowed to proceed further as they were suspected to be the supporters of a candidate other than the village’s consensus candidate.
In a village in Mokokchung, those considered to be voting for other than the consensus candidate, were pre-warned not to venture out of their house on polling day. In each polling station, a person was designated to observe the ‘secret ballot.’ As the day progressed, there were violent clashes in Akuluto constituency between two rival groups marring the polling process. Till the filing of the report, one person died in the clashes while two received injuries.
Polling at Polling Station No. 1-Ladeigarh of 49 Tamlu Assembly Constituency in Longleng district bordering Assam having 352 electors could not take place as Assam Armed Police prevented the polling personnel from proceeding to the Station.
Meanwhile, before the official commencement of polling at 7:00 am, a “crude bomb made of gelantine was blasted” at polling station 20 under Tizit Assembly Constituency in Tizit Village at 5:45 am on Tuesday. A civilian sustained minor injury. Stone pelting was also reported from the same constituency at Lapa Village where some polling materials were damaged.
As voting closes on February 27, Nagaland Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Abhijit Sinha informed that the overall voter turnout on the day was 75% till 4:30pm. This election saw a significant decrease in turnout when compared to the 2013 polls, which had registered 90% turnout.
Ironically, the lower turnout could be considered a ‘success’ for the election office, as it is an indication that different initiative undertaken to check electoral malpractices have apparently made an impact on the ground.
This in a nutshell, is ‘The Good, The Bad & The Ugly’ side of Election in Nagaland - a hodgepodge carnival. Updated…
