KOHIMA:
Nagaland
seems to be heading for a constitutional crisis as
NPF has ruled out chief minister
TR Zeliang quitting office, saying its effort to form the next government is still on.
NPF on Monday said it had submitted pre-poll alliance letters with National People's Party (
NPP
) and JDU as its allies to the governor earlier. "Efforts are on to cobble up the requisite numbers to form government. So, the question of Zeliang resigning at this juncture does not arise," an NPF statement said. "Technically, before a new chief minister is sworn in, the incumbent CM can continue as the caretaker," it added.
On the other hand, North East Democratic Alliance (Neda) convener and Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said BJP's alliance with NPF was over. "We worked together with NPF for 15 years. Our ties got snapped when we joined hands with NDPP. We fought the election together with
NDPP
, not NPF."
Sarma's statement come in response to NPF's repeated claims that its ties with BJP are still on. Sarma said chief minister TR Zeliang should resign and pave the way for government formation. He added, "The NDPP-BJP alliance has absolute majority."
Asked about governor PB Acharya giving a 48-hour deadline to Zeliang and Neiphiu Rio to submit letters of support signed by all MLAs who are on their side, Sarma said the NDPP-BJP alliance completed the formality. On Sunday, both Rio and Zeliang met the governor at the Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form government.
Rio, who is heading NDPP, said PM Narendra Modi would come to the swearing-in ceremony to be held at the Kohima Local Ground either on March 7 or 8. Zeliang, who was supposed to go to Delhi to meet BJP leaders to garner support, cancelled his trip at the last minute and stayed back to keep a watch on the developments.
BJP claimed that one of the two elected NPP legislators, L Khumo, attended a formal meeting of the saffron party in Dimapur on Monday. NPP's state unit president Ato Yepthomi wrote to the governor saying, "The party issues tickets and ensures success of candidates in elections. MLAs are therefore bound by the whip of the parties concerned."