Dimapur: The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and BJP have decided to continue their alliance with a seat-sharing arrangement of 40:20 for the upcoming Assembly election in Nagaland due early next year.
“The leadership of the two parties led by BJP president JP Nadda and Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio of the NDPP has mutually agreed to continue the alliance with seat sharing in the forthcoming elections to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly,” a joint statement issued by NDPP secretary general Abu Metha and BJP leader in-charge of Nagaland Nalin Kohli said on Tuesday.
The NDPP will contest in 40 seats and the BJP in 20 seats.
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There will be no friendly contest in any constituency, the statement said.
It said a core committee of NDPP and BJP members will formulate the election strategy to decide in which seat each party will contest at an appropriate time.
The NDPP-BJP alliance in Nagaland was formed ahead of the 2018 state Assembly election. The NDPP contested 40 seats and the BJP contested 20 seats in the election.
The pre-poll alliance won the mandate of the people to form the government on March 8, 2018.
The NDPP won 16 seats and BJP emerged the winner in 12 seats and formed the government with the support of two National People’s Party (NPP) MLAs, one JD (U) and an Independent legislator in the 60-member house. Later, the two NPP MLAs and the lone JD (U) legislator joined the NDPP.
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“The NDPP-BJP alliance has grown from strength to strength and continued to win the popular support of the people in the past four years having emerged victorious in elections to the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and assembly by-elections,” the joint statement said.
Recently, 21 Naga People’s Front MLAs, led by former chief minister TR Zeliang, joined the NDPP.