NDPP sweeps civic polls in Nagaland, wins all 3 municipal councils, most town councils

Kohima: The ruling NDPP swept the civic body polls in Nagaland on Saturday, winning all three municipal councils and most of the town councils, officials said.

The polling for the 24 urban local bodies -- three municipal councils and 21 town councils -- spread across 10 districts was held on Wednesday. Nearly 82 per cent of the over 2.23 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the elections, they said.

The counting began at 8 am in 16 centres, and has been slow since the elections were held on ballot papers, they added.

NDPP won all three municipal councils -- Kohima, Mokokchung and Dimapur. Of the 21 town councils, it secured a majority in all, except Wokha, Bhandari and Phek, officials said.

In the Wokha town council, the NDPP won seven of the 15 seats, while the NCP won five and the BJP got three seats. The Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF) secured a majority in both Bhandari and Phek town councils, they said.

In Bhandari town council, NPF won six of the nine wards, while BJP and JDU got one each, and an Independent candidate also won. In Phek Town Council, NPF won seven of the nine seats.

NDPP, which had already won five of the 19 seats in the Kohima Municipal Council unopposed, added eight more after the final declaration of result, securing a majority.

In Mokokchung Municipal Council, NDPP won 15 of the total 18 seats. Earlier, it had won six seats uncontested.

Counting for the 23 seats of the Dimapur Municipal Council is still in progress, but the NDPP has already crossed the majority mark, officials said.

The lowest winning margin was recorded in a seat of the Chantongya Town Council where NDPP candidate Temjennungsang won against Independent nominee A Limasanen by just one vote, State Election Commission officials said.

The youngest among the winning candidates is 22-year-old Nzanrhomi I Mozhui of the BJP, who won ward 1 of Bhandari Town Council in Wokha district. She defeated Hayiana Y Tungoe of the NPF.

Bhandari is the only urban local body where the NDPP did not field any candidate.

The NDPP had earlier won all nine wards of the Chiephobozou Town Council in Kohima district unopposed.

Altogether 523 candidates from 11 political parties were in the fray. NDPP fielded the highest number of candidates at 178, followed by BJP at 44, Congress at 37, NPP at 22, NPF at 21 and NCP at 15. JD(U) contested nine seats, RPI (Athawale) and LJP seven each, and Rising Peoples' Party one, also, there were 182 Independent candidates.

A total of 64 candidates -- 45 of NDPP, seven of BJP, five of NCP, three of Congress, two of NPF and two Independents had won unopposed in this election from different municipal and town councils.

The civic body polls in the state were held after a gap of two decades.

It is also historic as this was the first municipal election in the state to be held with 33 per cent reservation for women.

The government had announced elections to the urban local bodies several times in the past but objections from tribal bodies and civil society organisations to reservations for women and tax on land and properties had held back the polls.

Nagaland has a total of 39 town councils, but no election was held in 14 of those as they are located in the six eastern districts where tribal bodies called for a boycott.

The Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO), the apex body of seven Naga tribes, has been demanding a 'Frontier Nagaland Territory', claiming that the region has been neglected for years.

As many as 59 nominations were accepted from the region but the tribal bodies compelled the candidates to withdraw their nominations. These districts also did not vote in the Lok Sabha polls.