Nagaland goes for elections without assurance about solution to Naga conflict

BJP and NDPP are contesting the elections with a 20:40 seat-sharing arrangement with the hope to retain power

"Elections for solution," was the slogan of BJP in the 2018 Assembly elections in Nagaland. That, perhaps, prompted people of Nagaland to vote more for BJP as the Nagas could not reach a final solution to the decades-long Naga political conflict under the Naga People's Front (NPF) and Congress governments till then.

BJP's tally in the 60-member Nagaland Assembly rose to 12, from just one in the 2013 elections. Its ally, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) too pinned hope on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a final solution. Both BJP and NDPP talked strongly about the "framework agreement" Modi government had signed in August 2015 with NSCN (IM), the Naga rebel group (in ceasefire since 1997), based on which a final agreement was to be signed.

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Five years down the line, BJP's manifesto for the Assembly elections on February 27, neither talked about the future of the negotiation nor gave an assurance about a "final solution" to end the Naga conflict.

The party's manifesto, released by BJP president JP Nadda on February 14, promised a fund for the preservation and promotion of the unique culture of the Nagas but remained silent regarding a solution, considered the biggest issue in Nagaland. It promised a special package for Eastern Nagaland in order to quell the demand for a separate state carving out six districts in Eastern Nagaland, besides several others. The groups demanding a separate state had even issued an election boycott call but were later convinced by the Centre.

BJP and NDPP are contesting the elections with a 20:40 seat-sharing arrangement with a hope to retain power. Nagaland, in fact, is likely to have another all-party government even after the elections as the NPF pledged to remain "united" in the government in the interest of a final solution. In September 2021, NPF joined the NDPP-BJP government making Nagaland the only state with an all-party government.

The NDPP's manifesto released on Friday for this election assured that the party would not remain a "mute spectator" and do everything possible to strengthen the ongoing peace process and play the role of "active facilitator" to bring an early solution. The party led by CM Neiphiu Rio, in this election, however, is not talking much about the "framework agreement" like in 2018. In fact, the NDPP entered into an alliance with BJP with the hope to find a solution to the Naga conflict.

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The NPF, contesting 22 seats this time, in its manifesto also assured to play the role of "active facilitator" in the talks while stating that the process to find a final solution should be expedited. The party, too, however, could not give an assurance as the Centre only can take a decision regarding the agreement.

The Opposition Congress, meanwhile, has started criticizing the Modi government asking why a final solution could not be reached in the past five years. "In 2018, BJP made elections for a solution as its slogan. With no solution in five years and several other broken promises, the only thing PM Modi can offer this time is a slogan, elections for confusion," senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told reporters on February 18.

Talks in limbo:

The Centre in 2015 had signed a "framework agreement" with NSCN (IM) and another similar pact with Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), six other rebel groups, in 2017. But a final agreement has not yet been signed mainly due to the NSCN-IM's insistence on its demand for a separate flag and Constitution for the Nagas. The Centre rejected the NSCN-IM's demand.