BJP accepts junior role in Nagaland alliance, murmurs within state unit

Deputy CM Y Patton, who publicly expressed resentment over being kept in the dark, told The Indian Express that the Nagaland BJP would "have to abide by the decision of the central leadership”, but many leaders in the state “did not approve of the current arrangement”.

The BJP and NDPP joined hands ahead of the 2018 election, when the BJP broke away from the Naga People’s Front (NPF) to align with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s newly formed NDPP. (File)

While the BJP and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) both enthused about the pre-poll alliance they have formed for the 2023 Assembly elections, as they announced the same on Tuesday, on the ground, the news received a colder reception.

The BJP and NDPP joined hands ahead of the 2018 election, when the BJP broke away from the Naga People’s Front (NPF) to align with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s newly formed NDPP. Announcing that the tie-up would continue for the 2023 polls, the NDPP and BJP said their alliance had gone from “strength to strength”.

Under the visionary leadership of @PMOIndia
Shri @narendramodi & Shri @AmitShah our alliance is further strengthened.We remain committed to work for lasting peace & accelerated all-round dev. of the State. Grateful to @JPNadda @blsanthosh
& @himantabiswa for their trust & support https://t.co/W5fEk0olls

— Neiphiu Rio (@Neiphiu_Rio) July 26, 2022

Many in the BJP state unit, however, admitted they were taken by surprise by the decision, seen as influenced by the high command in Delhi. Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, who publicly expressed resentment over being kept in the dark, told The Indian Express that the Nagaland BJP would “have to abide by the decision of the central leadership”, but many leaders in the state “did not approve of the current arrangement”.

The two parties have a 40:20 seat-sharing formula in the 60-member House, with 40 going to the NDPP. BJP leaders said they were preparing for the party to contest the elections on its own in 2023.

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Patton said he didn’t understand how being a junior partner “helps us”. The BJP was now “widely accepted in Christian-majority Nagaland”, he said.

Many see the reason for Patton’s open discontent regarding the alliance as his thwarted ambitions. “He is only upset because his hopes of becoming chief minister have been scuttled,” said a BJP source, adding that the decision to partner with the NDPP was made last year itself. “Tuesday’s announcement was just a formal announcement to make it official. We did this keeping the Naga peace talks in mind,” he said.

Patton rubbished the allegations of him wanting the top job. “It is not about my personal ambitions,” he said. “It is just that I want a BJP government in Nagaland, and I know we can pull it off. Under PM Narendra Modi, there has been a huge development focus on Nagaland and the Northeast.”

There have been other instances indicating friction between the two parties.

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Last August, when Nagaland legislators decided to come together to form an Opposition-less, all-party government to help reach an early settlement of the Naga political problem, there were murmurs of the central BJP leadership being unhappy. The Centre even shuffled its feet before officially accepting the nomenclature for the all-party government (United Democratic Alliance).

“They were not warm to the idea because they were apprehensive that such a step would reduce the power of the BJP in the state,” a source had then said.

Adding to the BJP’s discomfiture, in April, almost all legislators of the NPF joined Rio’s NDPP, doubling its numbers in the House from 21 to 42, far ahead of other allies. It was seen as Rio’s way of securing his position, getting support on his side, to keep the BJP’s rising power in check.

The NPF, now reduced to four MLAs, quipped that the alliance was a “blessing in disguise” for them. “The BJP had the capacity to contest all 60 seats, they had a fair chance,” said NPF chief Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu, “But now they have ‘vacated’ 40 seats. Same with the NDPP too. They ‘vacated’ 20 seats.”