Independent candidate from 8 Western Angami Assembly Constituency, Keneizhakho Nakhro, on Saturday released his election manifesto at a brief function held at Para Medical Colony in Kohima.
Nakhro, who was elected to the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly in 2018, was denied a party ticket by ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) recently and has decided to contest independently. He explained that denial of party ticket was done for reasons best known to the party leaders. Nakhro, however, stated that he held no grudges and felt that it would be more advantageous contesting as an independent candidate, stated an update from the Independent camp.
He said the denial of party ticket overwhelmed his supporters but it did not discourage them, instead, it strengthened their unstinted support for him. He expressed gratitude to his constituency people for understanding the situation and appealed to them to give him another chance to perform as per their aspirations.
Nakhro is headed for a straight fight against NDPP’s preferred candidate Salhoutuonuo Kruse in the February 27 polls with the vision statement: “Partnering together for an equitable, sustainable and resilient future for all.”
The key priorities in his manifesto laid focus on improving infrastructural facilities for better quality of life; to work towards accessibility to basic services and opportunities; to focus on skill development for livelihood development and community building; to promote gender equity and women empowerment; to strive for inclusive growth that benefits all sections of society; promote games and sports and other opportunities for the youths; to fastrack public services for pensioners and senior citizens; promote sustainable and responsible tourism among others.
On his decision to contest as an independent, he said it was rather a conscious choice since in a coalition era, independent candidates could become game changers.
