Prospect of NCP joining alliance hangs overhead
Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 3
The dust may have settled after the jubilation surrounding the declaration of results. For the winning camp, however, a new race for government formation has started.
The NDPP wasted no time to gather its flock no sooner, herding the party’s winning candidates to a hotel in Kohima on March 3. According to reliable sources, atleast 15-20 of its winning candidates were checked-in to Hotel Vivor, where they will likely be camped till it irons out sharing of Ministerial berths with ally BJP.
The sources however maintained that herding of members before government formation is not a new phenomenon. Besides the all too obvious cautionary measure, such huddling of winning candidates is also regarded as an “orientation programme” or acquainting them with each other given that new faces have also joined the bandwagon.
It may appear settled but other sources were of the view that the NDPP was not letting its guard down despite a seemingly well placed pre-poll deal with the BJP. As per this set of sources, the NDPP with 25 seats could also mull the option of tying up with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which won 7 seats, giving it a comfortable simple majority of 32.
But with the NDPP-BJP pre-poll deal in effect, the sources said that the NDPP would not want to sideline its ally to propose a 4:8 Ministerial berth ratio. This proposed alternative was not independently verified however.
As per the pre-poll deal, both parties would take an equal share of the 12 Cabinet berths or 6 each. The PDA government in 2018 was sworn-in with the BJP claiming 6 Cabinet berths, including the post of the Deputy Chief Minister, 4 for the NDPP, 1 for the JD (U) and 1 for an Independent. The JD (U) legislator later merged with the NDPP, while the Independent legislator remained Independent though only overtly. He went on to complete the term as an Independent and contest successfully under the NDPP banner in 2023.
As for the NCP, it had expressed willingness to tie up with any party in Nagaland not linked to the BJP. NCP National General Secretary, Narendra B Verma made the statement at a press conference in Dimapur in December 2022 well before the 2023 elections was announced.
NCP President Vanthungo Odyuo, when contacted by The Morung Express, on Friday evening, maintained that his party has not made any proposal to the NDPP. He said that any move that the party makes in Nagaland will be as per the directive of the party’s central leadership. “At this juncture, I cannot give any comment,” he said.
With 7 wins, the NCP emerged as the single largest party, not allied to the NDPP-BJP combine. The figure gave it the option to officially become the opposition in the yet to be sworn-in 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly.
Queried if the NCP fancied the idea of helming the role of the Opposition, Odyuo replied that given a choice no one would want to be in the Opposition. “But high command recommendation is also required. So, I am waiting for their word,” he said, while informing that National General Secretary Verma, who is also the party Northeast incharge, will land in Nagaland on March 4. According to Odyuo, Verma was scheduled to address a press conference in Kohima the same day. He added that the new NCP MLAs were camping at a hotel (not Vivor) in Kohima.
If sources in the BJP camp were to be believed, the party’s MLAs-elect were not huddling like the NDPP or NCP. One of the sources said that the BJP Nagaland President Temjen Imna Along Longkumer was still camped in his home constituency.
Meanwhile, his colleagues were reportedly making moves. Veteran Imkong L Imchen, who won under the BJP banner, was already in Guwahati on Friday evening. When contacted, he said that he was in Guwahati “to meet somebody.”
When prodded further, he revealed that he was scheduled to meet the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on March 4.
He said that he went alone but “Some of them may join me tomorrow morning.” He declined to part with names only to add that Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton was also likely to reach Guwahati.
Imchen said that he was not aware of the alleged 4:8 proposal from the NDPP, while maintaining that, as per the pre-poll deal, it is 6 each for the alliance partners. “That is the pre-poll arrangement. It has to go in that way. There is no reason why it should be broken. I see no reason,” he said.
Queried if he was expecting a Cabinet berth, he responded in the negative. “I don’t think they’ll ask me to step aside. I am not claiming anything,” he said.
The swearing-in would likely happen on March 6 or 7, as per other sources in the NDPP camp.
The LJP (Ram Vilas) camp was also mulling the prospect of joining the ruling camp. The party’s National Spokesperson, Dr Ajay Kumar Pandey told a press conference in Dimapur on March 3 that Both BJP and LJP parties will have to wait for the Central command to take a decision on any alliance. Referring to its alliance with the NDA at the centre, he said that this was the reason the LJP did not contest in seats where there were BJP candidates.
