After a gap of two decades, Congress has finally won the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland by defeating the ruling government People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) consensus candidate Dr Chumben Murry.
S Supongmeren Jamir defeated Dr Murry with a margin of 50,984 votes. Jamir secured a total of 4,01951 votes whereas, Dr Murry secured 3,50,967 votes and Independent candidate Hayithung Tungoe Lotha secured 6,232 votes. The total number of NOTA stands at 1,646.
The win of the Indian National Congress in Nagaland has come as a big blow to the “oppositionless” government led by the NDPP-BJP alliance who had earlier exuded full confidence of a comfortable win with the support of all the sixty elected members.
Thank you Nagaland 🙏
This is your Victory ✌#SupermanJamir pic.twitter.com/Akd9uMHnDo— Nagaland Congress (@INCNagaland) June 4, 2024
The mandate of the citizens of Nagaland in this 18th Lok Sabha also raises questions whether, people have lost their faith in the oppositionless government which was formed with the idea and aspiration to carry the voice of the people for an early solution. Whereas, some observers also said that had the people of Eastern Nagaland participated in the parliamentary elections the scenario would have been different.
The last time a Congress MP from Nagaland sat in the Lok Sabha was in 1998 till 2004, when K Asungba Sangtam represented the State. Nagaland Congress has also failed to win a single seat in both 2018 and 2023 assembly polls. The last time the party had successfully contested was in 2013, when it won eight seats. However, in 2015, all eight MLAs merged with the then-ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF).
Will this win begin a fresh start for congress in Nagaland? Well, according to the newly elected Lok Sabha MP S Supongmeren Jamir, this win is definitely a turning point for his party to regain its earlier positions adding that this victory has also clearly shown that the people of Nagaland need change.
“We have to work hard and deliver justice to the people. So, it is now up to the people to assess whether we are doing the right or wrong thing. We have to go down to the grassroot people, we have to deliver the confidence to them. We’ll work out together and we have to be in the same boat,” said Jamir.
Speaking on the campaigning strategies, Jamir said the party since the beginning have worked together with the grassroot people addressing the pertaining issues and overall the core issue was that the people wanted to have democracy in the state.
Expressing his gratitude to the electorates of Nagaland, Jamir assured the citizens that he and the party will work accordingly to what has been committed without any differences and biases. “I give assurance to the people that without any differences the congress party will try to work out for the development and for the interest and development of the people, added Jamir.
Jamir also admitted that Dr Chumben Murry was a tough contender, and equally a very noble and humble person, however he said, his win is solely on issue based and not as a person concerned.
Meanwhile Dr Murry congratulated Supongmeren Jamir on winning the Nagaland Lok Sabha General Election 2024. In a post on X, Dr Murry wrote, “We fought this Election on issue-based arguments and he won peoples’ mandate based on that.” He also expressed confidence that the new Member of Parliament “will perform for the betterment of our Nagas.”
I humbly congratulate S. Supongmeren Jamir on winning the Nagaland Lok Sabha General Election 2024! We fought this Election on issue-based arguments and he won peoples’ mandate based on that. I am sure he will perform for the betterment of our Nagas. #NagaPride #LokSabha2024
— Dr. Chumben Murry (@Dr_ChumbenMurry) June 4, 2024
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Deputy Chief Minister’s Yanthungo Patton and TR Zeliang have also congratulated Jamir on ‘X’.
