Former MP Tokheho resigns from Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party

DIMAPUR — Former Lok Sabha MP Tokheho Yepthomi has submitted his resignation from the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), sending ripples through Nagaland’s political landscape on Thursday.

This move comes just two days after the shock Lok Sabha election results, where Congress candidate S Supongmeren Jamir secured a decisive victory over the NDPP candidate with a 50,984-vote margin.

Yepthomi, a former Congressman who had previously served as Leader of the Opposition, tendered his resignation to NDPP President Chingwang Konyak. His letter simply stated, “I hereby tender my resignation from the primary and active membership of the NDPP”, without providing any specific reasons.

Speculation is rife that Yepthomi may rejoin the Congress party, almost a decade after leaving the party to join first the Naga People’s Front and then the NDPP. Sources within the Nagaland Congress confirmed the possibility, while adding that his ambitions for the NPCC presidency cannot be ruled out at the moment.

Yepthomi was first elected to the Lok Sabha in a by-election in 2018 and then re-elected in the 2019 general elections.