Lok Sabha election 2024: NPP to support NDPP in Nagaland, NPF in Manipur

DIMAPUR — The National People’s Party (NPP) has announced that it would support the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) candidate Dr. Chumben Murry in Nagaland and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) nominee in Manipur in the upcoming general elections to the Lok Sabha.

NPP national president Conrad K Sangma made the announcement during a press conference held at the party’s office in Dimapur on Monday, after meeting with Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio, earlier in the day.

Sangma, who is also the chief minister of Meghalaya, said that several other resolutions concerning the coalition and its workings were also discussed during the meeting, in the presence of NPP MLAs of Nagaland and other coalition party legislators.

The NPP leaders and MLAs raised certain issues and concerns and urged Rio to resolve some of the matters, he said.

Additionally, decisions and resolutions regarding the internal affairs of the party were passed, with a commitment to strengthening the party’s organisation in the state and the Northeast region as a whole.

The NPP president also informed that the party had decided to support the NPF candidate Kachui Timothy Zimik in the Outer Manipur parliamentary seat after discussions with the NPF and the Manipur unit of NPP.

Regarding the distribution of responsibilities within the coalition, Sangma said that he had urged the Nagaland CM to consider allotting certain responsibilities to the NPP MLAs.

While working with the government is a responsibility in itself, they also expect additional responsibilities for MLAs to contribute to the government’s betterment, he said, adding that his counterpart from Nagaland had agreed to consider this request, and a positive response is anticipated.

Following the meeting, Rio took to micro-blogging site X, updating about Sangma’s visit. “I appreciate NPP, under his leadership, for extending support to our PDA consensus candidate,” he wrote.

Why coalition?

On internal dissent within the NPP regarding extending support to the NDPP candidate, Sangma acknowledged that differences exist within political parties. However, the idea of a coalition is to bring them together and take things forward, and these concerns are being addressed in the best interest of the party, state, and people, he said.

Explaining the decision to join the coalition instead of being in the opposition, he cited positive response from CM Rio regarding moving forward together to support MLAs and the party’s development agenda.

He stressed that while they collaborate with the government, the NPP will remain committed to addressing people’s concerns and advocating for their interests; even as they work together with the government, if any issues come up with the people, the party will address those issues in the larger interest of the people and never shy away from those concerns.

When asked about his confidence in the current NPP MLAs remaining with the party, Sangma replied that politics is always uncertain and there are various dynamics and factors at play. Stating that political leaders often assess situations and make decisions accordingly, he expressed hope that the team would continue to move forward together.

Regarding electoral bonds, he opined that “it is a transparent process, a step in the right direction towards bringing in slightly more transparent and cleaner funding in into the electoral system”.

On the issue of atrocities against minorities in Assam, he stressed the importance of upholding religious freedom and condemned any acts of violence or discrimination.

“Be clear, as a political party, that this kind of things done by organisations cannot be accepted,” he said, adding that the government should come out with a decisive response, making it clear that such actions are unacceptable.