The hard push for peace and development: What worked for BJP alliance in Nagaland

The BJP alliance is set to retain Nagaland. In a hard fought battle for the northeastern state, there were plenty of issues at stake

The BJP and its ally NDPP are set to return to power in Nagaland. As per the leads, the BJP Alliance is set to win in at least 33 seats.

There are 60 seats in the Nagaland elections and the magic number is 31.

There are a number of issues that went in favour of the BJP alliance in Nagaland.

The Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO) had called for a boycott of the elections until its demands were made. The demand included a separate state-Frontier Nagaland comprising six districts of Tuensang, Mon, Shamator, Kiphire, Noklak and Longleng.

Had this boycott call gone through, it would have had an effect on 20 constituencies in the state.

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah however assured on February 2 that an agreement will be signed with the ENPO after elections. Following this the poll boycott was withdrawn.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was also a major issue. The whole of Nagaland was under AFSPA since 1995.

During a poll rally, Shah had said that the Naga peace talks should pave the way for a total exit of AFSPA in the state. He said that he sees Nagaland being AFSPA free in the next three to four years.

One of the main issues for the BJP was the restoration of peace in Nagaland. In Tuensang, Shah had said steps taken by the Centre in the past nine years had led to a decline of 70 per cent. The casualties among the security forces also dropped by 60 per cent, while civilian deaths in violence dipped by 83 per cent. He also pointed out that this was a resultant of the AFSPA being withdrawn from 15 police station limit across 15 police stations.

The factor that could have gone in favour of the BJP alliance was the increase in budgetary allocations for tribals being increased from Rs 21,000 crore in 2014 to Rs 86,000 crore in 2022.