BJP’s U-turn gives a new twist to Nagaland drama

KOHIMA/GUWAHATI: In a dramatic turnaround within 24 hours, BJP on Tuesday pulled out of the 11-party joint declaration that none of their members would be fielded in the Nagaland assembly polls next month until the Centre resolved the decades-old Naga crisis. BJP also suspended its state executive council member Kheto Sema, who was one of the signatories to the joint announcement.In another development, 10 MLAs of the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) , an ally of BJP, quit the party and the assembly on Tuesday. The possibility of many of them joining the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), which was formed by Lok Sabha MP and former CM Niephiu Rio recently, is not ruled out. Rio, who earlier led the NPF government for 11 years since 2003, was instrumental in forging more than a decade-old alliance between NPF and BJP. BJP’s turnaround followed a series of tweets by junior Union home minister Kiren Rijiju, who is BJP’s election in charge for Nagaland, saying holding of timely election is a constitutional process and the Centre is bound by the Constitution to do this. The minister’s tweets are seen as a damage-control attempt as the Nagaland unit of BJP joining hands with other parties in boycotting the polls would have caused immense embarassment to its central leadership as well as the central government.It was the Narendra Modi government that had signed a ‘Framework Agreement’ with Naga rebel groups in 2015 to end the Naga problem. However, the details of the agreement have not been disclosed more than two years after it was signed and this has made Naga groups suspicious. Only the PM, Union home minister Rajnath Singh, NSCN (IM) leader T Muivah and Naga peace talks interlocutor RM Ravi know the contents of the pact. Besides, the neighbouring states are opposed to the Nagas’ demand for greater Nagaland.While state BJP leaders were not available for comment on BJP’s U-turn and Sema’s suspension from the party, sources said he was not authorised to sign the declaration and was asked only to attend the meeting called by the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organizations (CCNTHCO) to press for postponement of polls.The resignation by 10 MLAs follows comes after weeks of internal dissension within NPF. It was the internal wrangling in NPF and the formation of NDPP that prompted BJP to start negotiations with both parties so that it can keep Congress out of power in the crucial northeastern state. Some BJP leaders even said they would try to have both NPF and NDPP as its allies.The MLAs’ resignations do not pose any immediate threat to the NPF government.