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(L-R) Akavi N Zhimomi (AAP), N Jacob Zhimomi (BJP), Nagavito Sumi (INC), Z Kasheto Yeptho (IND) at the Town Hall meeting at Aoyimti’s local ground on Feb. 19.[/caption]
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Feb. 19: The Aoyimti Clean Election Action Committee (ACEAC) of Aoyimti in Dimapur hosted a Town Hall forum for candidates who will be contesting from 4th Ghaspani-1 assembly constituency in the forthcoming assembly elections.
The Town Hall meeting was conducted in collaboration with two other community organisations of the area namely the Aoyimti Village Council and the Aoyimti Baptist Arogo.
N Jacob Zhimomi from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Akavi N Zhimomi from the Aam Admi Party (AAP); independent candidate Z Kasheto Yeptho, and Nagavito Sumi from the Indian national Congress (INC) were the candidates from the constituency who took to the podium to speak about their goals and manifestos if they were to come to power.
The moderator of the event was L Mongkhum Jamir. He said that the day’s event was conducted in front of representatives from 30 villages from different tribes. It was informed that the council had made a resolution attesting to ‘clean elections’ on Nov. 26 2016. He said that the Ghaspani constituency was the largest constituency in Nagaland. It was informed that two of the youngest candidates in the fray were also from the constituency.
Akavi N Zhimomi of the AAP, stated to be the youngest candidate in the assembly elections, said in his opening remarks that elections these days were only “participated by people with money.” The candidate claimed that he was entering the elections ‘without a single rupee’—all this to show that he was standing for “truth and representing the youth of Nagaland.”
“I am the manifesto,” Zhimomi proclaimed to the gathering. He assured that swift medical attention would be given to citizens during emergencies in the constituency. “AAP in Delhi has become a trendsetter and more or less like an opposition to the BJP,” he added.
Independent Kasheto Yeptho said that the Ao community had taken a “long stand and fight” to implementing the objectives of ‘clean’ elections. His main agenda for joining politics, he said, was first to ‘fight the burdens of the people’ and work from “the grassroots” and show a ‘commitment with God.’
Yeptho, being a businessman himself, was asked about the syndicate system and monopoly in Dimapur’s business. The moderator asked if he had faced any problems or if he was part of the system too.
The candidate replied that his tenure as president of the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce, he had spoken out against “threat monopolisation” and the system of syndication. “I want to protect the local business community and give platform to locals to compete against the non locals,” he assured.
The BJP’s candidate N Jacob Zhimomi on his part said it was a “long felt need of the people of Nagaland for a change.” Saying that the electorate compromising with their identity would lead to ‘no development.’ The BJP is committed to working toward the development of the state, he said. “BJP will give a good stable government and top concern for the educated youth.”
Zhimomi added that the previous term of the state’s government had seen changes five times ‘which stopped development.’ he said that handling the largest constituency in the state was not an easy job. “It was the requirement for the last 50 years and overnight development was not possible,” he replied when asked about infrastructure during the past five years as “nothing had been done.”
Nagavito Sumi, the INC’s candidate, also one of the youngest in this year’s assembly elections, said he was grateful that all the candidates were being given equal opportunity to show their leadership qualities. Speaking in terms of the Clean Election campaign, he assured that the public that they were in ‘safe hands.’
Sumi, claiming to be a staunch supporter of the INC, said that the current breed of leaders has “no principle” and that they do not stick to one party and its ideology. “Win or lose, I will stick with my party throughout,” he assured. He vowed to empower the youth too. “The party will show transparency and clean governance..the power will be given to the people and not myself,” he said.