Hayithung Bill Lotha, former Lok Sabha candidate, has on Tuesday appealed Nagaland Congress not to field its candidate in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and called “for a common, consensus Naga candidate.”

According to Lotha, who was the National People’s Party’s 2019 candidate for the lone seat in the State, the ‘sacrificial act’ of sending an unopposed Member of Parliament to Delhi will send a ‘strong political message’ to the entire nation about the Naga’s deep desire for ending the seven decades old political struggle which is at an “extremely delicate and highly advanced stage”.

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The need of hour is for political parties of all colours and individuals to come under one political understanding, he stated in the press release, adding that a candidate from the Congress Party “will bring great disunity and discord among the Nagas”. Lotha also said that if the Party fields a candidate, “the Nagas in general and particularly future Naga generations will never forgive Congress for such a vested interest political stance.”

Read more: Nagaland Congress will field candidate for Lok Sabha elections 2024: NPCC President

The politician lauded the oppositionless 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly where the members from eight political parties having different ideological doctrines are exhibiting an “Inspiring political unity”. Pointing out that the JD(U)’s allegiance to the ruling party in Nagaland while being a part of the INDIA bloc, Lotha opined that the Congress in the State should learn from the “political maturity and far-sightedness exhibited by the JD (U).”

Let all political parties in Nagaland including the Congress gather together in choosing a ‘common, consensus Naga candidate’ to make “him” win electorally uncontested, Hayithung Bill Lotha appealed.