Nagaland Elections: NPF Invites BJP to Form Govt With It

Follow The Quint for live updates on the assembly election results in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland.

Janata Dal (United) Nagaland to support the BJP in formation of a government, ANI reported. The JD(U) won one seat and is leading in another seat in Nagaland.

Nagaland is headed for a hung Assembly, with no party or pre-poll alliance having won a majority. However, NPF leader and Chief Minister TR Zeliang has invited the BJP to form the government with the party.

The NPF looks set to emerge as the single largest party, having won 24 seats and leading in three. The BJP had parted ways with the NPF ahead of the polls and joined hands with the newly-launched NDPP of Neiphiu Rio.

Zeliang said the NPF continued to be a part of the northeast democratic alliance led by the BJP, and hoped the saffron party would form the government with it.

“The BJP will form the next government in Nagaland with the help of ‘other’ parties,” Union Minister and BJP in-charge for the state Kiren Rijiju told PTI on Saturday, 3 March, indicating that the party's erstwhile ally, the NPF, may align with it.

"The NPF has already passed a resolution on alliance with the BJP,” Rijiju told PTI.

The BJP was part of the NPF-led government in Nagaland till the Assembly elections but parted ways to join hands with the newly-formed NDPP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted a congratulatory message applauding the work of BJP workers in the Nagaland.

Trends at 2.50 pm

Minutes into the counting day, trends put the BJP at lead in two seats, at 8:32 am.

As reported by The Hindu, one person was shot dead during a clash in Akuluto constituency in Zunheboto district, between the BJP and the NPF supporters .

The report adds that along with this, two others were reportedly injured in the open fire initiated by the India Reserve Battalion personnel, to halt the clashes between the two parties, some of whom were allegedly armed.

Neiphiu Rio, the Chief of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), which is also in alliance with the BJP, was reportedly elected unopposed from the Northern Angami-II constituency, which contains 40 polling stations.

Polling in Nagaland began on Tuesday morning in 2,156 polling stations, out of which 40 polling stations fall under the Northern Angami-II seat.

The polls witnessed a 75 percent turn out, which is significantly lesser than the 90.57 percent that was recorded for the state in the last Assembly elections.

As reported by PTI, a total of 11,76,432 voters , comprising 5,97,281 men, 5,79,151 women and 5,884 service voters, were considered eligible to exercise their franchise in the Nagaland polls.