The National People’s Party (NPP) has rejected the movement of five of its MLAs to the Naga People’s Front (NPF), describing it as “poaching” rather than a merger and asserting that the mandate secured by the legislators on NPP tickets in the 2023 Assembly election remains with the voters.

In a statement, NPP National Vice President Vevoyi D. Vadeo said the development did not constitute a merger between two political parties, arguing that the five legislators had won their respective seats on NPP tickets with the support of NPP workers and voters.

“The mandate stays where the voter put it. It does not move because the member has moved,” Vadeo said.

He questioned the rationale behind the NPF taking five NPP legislators, noting that the NPF already had a majority in the 60-member Nagaland Legislative Assembly and that there was currently no opposition in the House.

According to Vadeo, the movement of the legislators therefore did not alter the balance of power in the Assembly but only increased the strength of the NPF benches. He alleged that taking legislators from another party under such circumstances amounted to “poaching”.

Vadeo also criticised the use of the opposition-less Assembly, saying it had been accepted as a mechanism through which legislators could speak with one voice on the Naga political issue. He alleged that the arrangement had instead been used to facilitate political defections.

Referring to other parties in the Assembly, including the BJP and LJP (Ram Vilas), as well as JD(U) and Independent members, Vadeo said the NPP was not convinced by assurances that the NPF alliance remained intact.

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He also referred to the earlier movement of legislators from the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) to the NPF, arguing that the latest development represented another instance of the NPF expanding its strength through legislators elected on other party tickets.

Citing an Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report, Vadeo claimed that Nagaland had recorded a significant number of sitting legislators changing parties and that the NPF emerged as the biggest beneficiary among the parties covered by the study. He said the earlier NDPP-NPF merger should not be treated as justification for the latest development.

The NPP leader maintained that an increase in the number of NPF legislators would not by itself address issues relating to governance, the Naga political issue or the performance of the government.

“Headcount is not performance,” he said, asserting that voters would ultimately judge elected representatives on their record in office.

Vadeo further contended that the five legislators could not use the term “merger” to shield the move, saying they had been elected as NPP representatives and would have to answer to the electorate for leaving the party on whose ticket they contested the 2023 election.

The NPP, he said, was examining the notification concerning the development and would pursue “every remedy” available under the Constitution, the Tenth Schedule and applicable law.

“The question before Nagaland is blunt. Does the vote cast in 2023 hold until the next election, or does it hold only until the NPF decides to take it?” Vadeo asked.