Hayithung Tungoe Lotha, the Independent candidate for the Nagaland Parliamentary Constituency, has jeered at the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) government in the state for “struggling to influence major chunk of the vote bank in Nagaland” despite making all efforts to create a “thumping majority win”.

The candidate said that ENPO’s to refrain from participating in the Lok Sabha polls on 19th April 2024 is due to the State Government’s “dilly-dallying approach for the past many years revealing their incompetency and disinterest” in solving the issue of Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT).

“But I, personally choose not to stay silent nor blind to the demands of the ENPO and the lakhs of people who had gone through a lot of inequalities and sufferings since attainment of Statehood in 1963,” Lotha affirmed. He reiterated that as an elected MP “who shall be capable to press upon the next Prime Minister of India”, he would prioritize the needs and aspirations of the people of Eastern Nagaland and fulfill the demand for FNT.

“My vision would be to bring and fulfill the political, financial and administrative autonomy as desired by the people of Eastern Nagaland within the state of Nagaland, the appointment of Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) equivalent to the rank of Chief Minister who shall directly report to the Governor’s Office and most importantly the FNT should be directly under Central Government funding monitored and supervised by the Government of India,” the Independent candidate stated.

Hayithung Lotha also assured that he would safeguard the socio-cultural, religious and political identity of the Eastern Nagas and give special attention to Education and Health Sectors of the region and appealed to the ENPO to invest its faith and power of vote on him, a candidate “who is neither influenced nor dictated by the ideology of any political party or with any obligation but only driven by the philosophy to facilitate equality and justice for all.”