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Our Correspondent
Kohima, Oct. 17 (EMN): Three political parties in Nagaland have listed their star campaigners for the upcoming bye-elections scheduled to be held on November 3, in the two assembly constituencies --60-Pungro-Kiphire and 14-Southern Angami-I.
As per the lists of star campaigners issued by the office of chief electoral officer (CEO) on Saturday, only three political parties— Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC), and Naga People’s Front (NPF) have submitted their list.
The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party did not submit its star campaigners' list to the CEO's office even on the last date of submission (on Saturday), according to official sources.
This time, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued revised guidelines for star campaigners due to the coronavirus pandemic. Maximum limit on the number of star campaigners for political parties have been reduced to 30 from 40.
The ECI stated that requests for permission for the campaigning by star campaigners will be submitted to the district authorities at least 48 hours (or two days), before the start of campaign so that all necessary safety measures are put in place by all concerned stakeholders well in advance.
As per the official list, star campaigners from all the three political parties are state leaders. There is no mention of regional and national leaders in the list.
For BJP, minister and state BJP president Temjen Imna Along, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, advisor and national BJP spokesperson Mmhonlumo Kikon are among the star campaigners. NPF president Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu and leader of opposition TR Zeliang are among the star campaigners for NPF party. Meanwhile, NPCC is led by its president K Therie.