The BJP Nagaland unit has announced that it will contest the February 27 Assembly elections. Nagaland BJP led by its state President Visasolie Lhonugu, met the party’s General Secretary Ram Madhav in New Delhi to discuss the matter, the party’s state media cell said.
‘After a thorough deliberation, it was agreed upon that Nagaland BJP would contest the election for the cause of solution in the state as per scheduled,’ read the statement. ‘Bharatiya Janata Party is for early solution to the present Naga Political issue and BJP will be part of the system to implement all the agreements held between the government of India and the negotiating parties’.
Why Has the Assembly Elections Been Boycotted in Nagaland?
The decision comes just days after 11 political parties, including the BJP and the ruling Naga People’s Front, signed a bond to not contest the elections till the Naga peace talks conclude. The agreement came in the aftermath of an appeal from the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations calling on political parties to stay away from elections and instead insist on a resolution to the peace process first.
The next day, however, the BJP issued a clarification, saying that its representatives in the state did not have the authority to sign the bond and also suspended the two people who were at the meeting.
