NPP to contest upcoming ULB elections in Nagaland

DIMAPUR — The National People's Party (NPP) has confirmed its intention to participate in the forthcoming urban local body (ULB) elections in Nagaland, particularly in areas where it has sitting MLAs and wherever there is a demand for NPP

James Sangma, the NPP's national general secretary (Org.), made this announcement during a press conference held in Dimapur on Friday, following a state consultative meeting with NPP Nagaland's state and district executive members.

Sangma said that the primary focus during the meeting was to assess the organisational structure of the NPP in Nagaland and to discuss the current political landscape, particularly in light of the recent Lok Sabha elections and the upcoming ULB elections.

 “We, as a party, are going to be contesting the upcoming ULB election”, he affirmed, while clarifying that though the NPP extends issue-based support to the Nagaland government, it believes in fulfilling the mandate received from the people of Nagaland to bring about development and positive change. Therefore, the party considers it irresponsible to remain inactive in the electoral process.

Regarding the scope of their participation, Sangma explained that the NPP will definitely contest in areas where they have sitting legislators, encompassing both municipal corporations and town councils. Additionally, the party is open to contesting in other areas where there is a noticeable demand for NPP representation, he said.

“Looking at the changing political landscape of the state, we feel that there is a lot of opportunity for the NPP to expand to other areas where we feel that there is considerable demand for the NPP to contest”, he maintained.

On fielding female candidates, he responded that the party has always been in support of women’s reservation. However, it will depend on the number of women candidates who will apply.

“We welcome women candidate also to come forward and partake in the process of democracy,” he said.

Concerning the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO)'s decision to abstain from the ULB elections, and considering the NPP has three MLAs from eastern Nagaland, NPP Nagaland IPR, Ranjit Singhvi acknowledged the complexity of the situation. He emphasised the party's belief in the importance of voting as a means to secure rights, but here, “the issues are overlapping”, he said.