There is a famous saying that in politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies but only permanent interests. And true to this maxim, three political parties here in Nagaland, which till a few hours ago were not even on talking terms, have decided to bury their differences, past hurts and come together to fight the coming Assembly Elections slated for February 23, 2013. And by their coming together the almost defunct Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) has been revived for the third time after two previous failed marriages. The DAN government was first formed after the 2003 Assembly Election headed by the NPF with Neiphiu Rio as the Chief Minister. Although the Congress had emerged as the single largest party then, it was the NPF, which made the smart moves to quickly cobble together a political coalition. The BJP with seven MLAs was the largest coalition partner of the NPF. Other smaller parties like the JD (U) and Samata Party were also part of the DAN government. During the 2008 Assembly Election also the NPF was able to bring on board not just the independents but also the elected MLAs of the BJP and NCP and form the second DAN government. Off course at that time the NCP in Nagaland was working under the direction of its then leader PA Sangma, a close friend of Rio and the NPF. After government formation all of us know how the BJP and NCP MLAs were absorbed into the ruling NPF and the respective parties dissolved. Since then both the BJP and NCP have been revived and rebuild under new leadership.
Perhaps given the bitter past, it will come as a surprise to many as to why the BJP in Nagaland has taken the decision to realign with the NPF and revive the DAN coalition after having being treated the way by the NPF when in the peak of power. Maybe the thought playing on the minds of the NPF or BJP leaders is that the latter can never align with the Congress party in Nagaland given the state of national politics where the BJP is in direct opposition to the Congress led UPA government. So despite the manner in which the NPF had shabbily treated its allies in the past, the DAN alliance is perhaps also preparing for the prospect of the BJP led NDA Alliance coming to power at the Centre after two terms of Congress led UPA government. The coming together of the BJP, JD (U) and the NPF is along the lines of the NDA alliance. The NPF, which is lending support to the UPA government, is expected to jump ship to the NDA. This is the right thing for the NPF to do because it has no moral right to continue in the UPA after stitching an alliance with NDA parties like the BJP and JD (U).
All this also goes to show that when it comes to our politicians, principles and ideology are far from their priority. They are only looking at consideration of power and loaves of office. The coming together of the NPF and BJP is purely a marriage of convenience. Just consider their position on the Frontier Nagaland issue. The NPF is clearly against separation of present Nagaland State. The BJP President Nitin Gadkari on the other hand has already promised a separate State of Frontier Nagaland if the BJP led NDA comes to power at the Centre. Voters should be cautious of such political machinations.
