Nagaland polls 2023 | Bihar’s LJP (RV) rises as a surprise dark horse

The party from Bihar is eyeing the ‘opposition’ space in a State with an all-party government 

 The “unknown” factor may make a political party from Bihar the dark horse in Nagaland. 

The Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Congress, two parties that ruled Nagaland for a combined 31 years, struggled to find candidates for the February 27 Assembly polls in the State. The former managed to field 22 candidates while the latter has 23 in the fray after two candidates withdrew, one of them helping the BJP’s Kazheto Kimini win the Akuluto constituency unopposed. 

But the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), which flew in a month ahead of the Nagaland polls, had it easy finding candidates. Almost all of its 16 candidates were denied tickets by the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and its minor ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party. 

Four of the LJP (RV) candidates are MLAs who switched over from the NPF to the NDPP in April 2022. Another candidate, Longrineken won the Jangpetkong constituency on a BJP ticket in 2018. 

The LJP (RV) candidates are among Nagaland’s wealthiest politicians. But what has set tongues wagging is that the Bihar-based party is contesting the seats where the NDPP has candidates. 

The NDPP is contesting 40 seats and the BJP the remaining 20 according to a seat-sharing formula. 

Y. Vikheho Awomi, the LJP (RV) candidate seeking to wrest the Dimapur-II seat from NDPP legislator Moatoshi Longkumer, denied any strategic understanding with any other party.