Pre-settlement, poll fever yet to catch on in Nagaland
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network
Dimapur, October 31 2012:
The floating of the Joint Legislature Forum (JLF) by the 60 MLAs of Nagaland Legislative Assembly cutting across party lines to push for the early settlement of the vexed Naga political issue has been the reason why no open election campaigns have started even today though the State Assembly election is just a few months away.
Any legislator talking about the next Assembly election is considered not genuine in the JLF's effort for expedition the 15 years long Naga peace talk.
Nagaland Health Minister Azo was cornered by the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) after the former had reportedly commented that Naga Peoples' Front (NPF) would return to power after the 2013 Assembly election.
The Congress said that when the whole Nagaland Assembly is talking about the settlement of the Naga political problem, the Health Minister was talking about the next Government formation.
The NPCC's logic was that when anyone is talking of the settlement of the Naga issue before the Assembly election, it is absurd to think of the next Government formation.
Few months back there had been open election campaigns in Nagaland for the 2013 Assembly election due either in February or March, but ever since the formation of the JLF no public talks on the election related matters were heard again from the politicians.
The JLF after its formation had camped in New Delhi twice and had met several Central leaders including Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj, L.K Advani, Sharad Yadav, Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, the then home minister P Chidambaram, NCP leader Sharad Pawar and others in connection with the Naga peace talks.
The JLF had also met various Naga outfits.