Nagaland Elections 2023: NSCN-IM opposed NPF, says party president S Liezietsu

In a big statement made by the president of Nagaland’s Naga People’s Front party (NPF), Shurhozelie Liezietsu on February 27 said that the separatist group National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) opposed the NPF party in this Assembly elections.

Speaking on the lines of the ongoing polls that begun today, February 27, NPF president S Liezietsu claimed that the separatist group has opposed the NPF party and directed not to contest elections. 

Liezietsu while speaking to reporters said that despite all challenges, NPF managed to field 22 candidates in this Assembly election.

The BJP served as the NPF's partner throughout its15-year rule from 2003 to 2018 in Nagaland. However, its fortunes plummeted following the elections of 2018, when the BJP split from it to join the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), which went on to form the government while excluding the NPF, which was the party with the most members.

The state became virtually "opposition-less" when the NPF and the state government collaborated last year to find a common solution to the Naga political issue. In 2022, the NPF lost 21 of its MLAs to the NDPP, leaving it with four MLAs, further weakening its power. 

This time, the party is competing for just 22 of the 60 seats in Nagaland, stripped of its most prominent members.

Also read : PM Modi urges young voters of Meghalaya and Nagaland to vote in record numbers