NPF decides on conscience voting on Prez polls

Kohima, July 8: The gap among the coalition partners of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland(DAN) has been gradually widening in Nagaland, following the Nagaland Peoples' Party(NPF)'s decision to prefer 'conscience voting' for the July 19 Presidential election.

The DAN coalition came to power defeating the decade-old Congress regime in Nagaland in February, 2003, with the coalition partners of NPF, BJP, JD(U), Samata Party and Independents to form the DAN Government in the state in support of the then NDA Government in the Centre led by Atal Behari Vajpayee.

However, when UPA came to power in the Centre, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio reportedly wanted to join the Congress, which was rejected by the state Congress leaders, but as a former Congressman, he was the Home Minister in the S C Jamir-led Congress Ministry in the previous Government, Mr Rio still had a soft corner towards Congress party.

Moreover, the UPA reportedly approached the chief minister and NPF President and Urban Development Minister Shurhozelie seeking their support and votes in favour of its candidates Pratibha Patil, while the NDA had sought the support of DAN allies for its candidate Shekhawat.

On the above mentioned situation, the NPF did not want confrontation with its alliance partners, including the BJP and decided to go for 'conscience voting' in the Presidential elections.

The Nagaland unit of BJP requested that as an anti-Congress government, the DAN coalition should support the NDA-sponsored candidate, but time would say about their conscience voting in Presidential election.

UNI