Amid speculations that all may not be well between the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Nagaland, the NDPP today said that it has taken “the mature and big hearted decision to maintain the spirit of the alliance throughout the State and work in close cooperation in a collective manner with our alliance partner in the greater interest of the citizens of the State.”

Clarifying the Party’s actual position with regard to the recently concluded elections to the Urban Local Bodies in the State, the NDPP stated that the plan to field its candidates in wards under Assembly Constituency with sitting BJP MLAs and likewise for the NDPP was proposed by the BJP while the NDPP had suggested for friendly contests.

“After discussion between leaders of both parties in Nagaland and in Delhi it was decided that the spirit of the alliance will be adhered. In this principle, the NDPP and the BJP would field candidates in the respective assembly constituencies which are represented by 25 NDPP MLAs and 12 BJP MLAs. In the remaining 23 constituencies there would be friendly contests if necessary. It was also agreed that in selected areas there would be local arrangements for friendly contests between the two parties.”

The NDPP claimed that despite of these agreement, the BJP “poached and offered BJP tickets under Chumoukedima town council” to NDPP Party leaders and as a result of no working formula formulated between the parties, the NDPP fielded its candidates in Chümoukedima.

However, the ruling party said that it did not field candidates for Niuland Town Council “as a gesture of mutual respect and in observance of the spirit of the alliance.”

The party was also surprised when camping has started for the Dimapur Municipal Council outside the state in Assam, the NDPP alleged in its statement.

Despite of these, the NDPP has said that its leadership has asserted “to follow an inclusive approach and continue to maintain the positive teamwork that has been built up over the past years” and not allow electoral differences in the local elections hamper the common vision of all round development and progress of Nagaland.

The Party further asserted that it will continue to uphold the voice of the Naga people, and assured that will stand for justice to minorities and will never compromise on our religion and we assure that the NDPP will steadfastly stand up for the constitutional guarantee of secularism. Reiterating that it is deeply rooted in the ideology of regionalism, the Party assured to constantly uphold, protect the aspirations of the people and carry the voice of the masses.

The NDPP stated that it has “a vision and a plan to take an innovative and fresh approach to development and governance in the urban local bodies so that we make united efforts to make up for the lost years of two decades and also to set a benchmark to urban growth and progress Towards this aspiration, we appeal to all sections to unite under a spirit of oneness and let the differences of elections be buried so that Nagaland marches forward striving towards excellence with the contributions of one and all.”