Dimapur | November 3 : After the dramatic ouster of the then seemingly-unconquerable Laloo Prasad in 2005 to redefine party politics in North India, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is now eying the North East – Manipur and Nagaland.
It is now official that the Janata Dal-United chief has sent feelers to the Naga People’s Front (NPF) for an alliance to contest against Indian National Congress-led Secular Progressive Front (SPF) in Manipur in the forthcoming state assembly elections.
Two of the JD-U’s frontal chiefs were in Dimapur November 3 where the party is said to be willing for the NPF’s hand in the Manipur polls against Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s alliance. The party’s in-charge of the North East, General Secretary Arun Kumar Srivastava and JD-U national women’s chief Dipti Sharma, and other party officials were in an interaction with a The Morung Express reporter at Hotel Saramati Thursday.
“We are going to form a third front in Manipur. Although we have no MLA, we are the biggest opposition party in the state,” Srivastava said, referring to Manipur. ‘I am going to meet Chief Minister of Nagaland today to join in the third alliance in Manipur.’
He said ‘Manipur has no government left.’ Out of “365 days, 235 days are ‘bandhs’ (blockades/agitations); the price of petrol is Rs. 250 per liter…” “I think there is no government left,” Srivastava explained. The JD-U leader said that the party is mobilizing to seek President’s Rule in the bandh-ravaged state.
He said that Neiphiu Rio’s NPF had ‘helped NCP, BJP’ earlier before and in Manipur state, Srivastava said, the NPF joining the third front would be prospective for both the JD-U and the NPF. The latter is expected to sweep all the Naga –dominated hill districts of Manipur in the coming state elections due to the strong anti-Manipur government amongst the Naga and other tribal communities.
The JD-U chief explained further that ‘corrupt leadership’ in Manipur as with the Centre’s United Progressive Alliance has gone out of bounds. “Corruption is high in Manipur and the government is not doing anything,” the general secretary said. The corruption and incompetence can be stopped by a third front, he said. Even more so, the JD-U leader added, if ‘like-minded parties’ such as the NPF joins the bandwagon to oust Ibobi from the chair.
Queried whether he has met with chief minister Neiphiu Rio, Srivastava said he would soon be, the fact that he was in Nagaland. He also said he would be returning to Nagaland.
Also, JD-U national women’s president Dipti Sharma has urged women in Nagaland to be not just active, but be more proactive. “We are always only on the sidelines. We are politically not well-organized and we continue to be in the shadows of men,” Sharma responded when queried about her perspective about women in politics in Nagaland.
Also present with the leaders, was president of Nagaland’s JD-U unit Mhonjan Lotha. Lotha said “till today we are supporting DAN (the NPF-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland).” The JD-U unit is on ‘the verge’ of devising an action plan to have the NPF in the envisaged alliance in Manipur, he said.
Led by a chief minister who is considered one of India’s “best chief ministers” thanks to his wide reforms against corruption and strong hand against crime in Bihar, JD-U is currently one of North India’s most popular parties. Nitish Kumar is chief minister of Bihar thrice. The first term was brief while the current term is the second of two consecutive tenures since virtually wiping off Bihar’s opposition in 2005, in the biggest landslide victory by any political party in India in 20 years.
NPF leaders could not be contacted for comment at the time of filing this news report.
It is now official that the Janata Dal-United chief has sent feelers to the Naga People’s Front (NPF) for an alliance to contest against Indian National Congress-led Secular Progressive Front (SPF) in Manipur in the forthcoming state assembly elections.
Two of the JD-U’s frontal chiefs were in Dimapur November 3 where the party is said to be willing for the NPF’s hand in the Manipur polls against Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s alliance. The party’s in-charge of the North East, General Secretary Arun Kumar Srivastava and JD-U national women’s chief Dipti Sharma, and other party officials were in an interaction with a The Morung Express reporter at Hotel Saramati Thursday.
“We are going to form a third front in Manipur. Although we have no MLA, we are the biggest opposition party in the state,” Srivastava said, referring to Manipur. ‘I am going to meet Chief Minister of Nagaland today to join in the third alliance in Manipur.’
He said ‘Manipur has no government left.’ Out of “365 days, 235 days are ‘bandhs’ (blockades/agitations); the price of petrol is Rs. 250 per liter…” “I think there is no government left,” Srivastava explained. The JD-U leader said that the party is mobilizing to seek President’s Rule in the bandh-ravaged state.
He said that Neiphiu Rio’s NPF had ‘helped NCP, BJP’ earlier before and in Manipur state, Srivastava said, the NPF joining the third front would be prospective for both the JD-U and the NPF. The latter is expected to sweep all the Naga –dominated hill districts of Manipur in the coming state elections due to the strong anti-Manipur government amongst the Naga and other tribal communities.
The JD-U chief explained further that ‘corrupt leadership’ in Manipur as with the Centre’s United Progressive Alliance has gone out of bounds. “Corruption is high in Manipur and the government is not doing anything,” the general secretary said. The corruption and incompetence can be stopped by a third front, he said. Even more so, the JD-U leader added, if ‘like-minded parties’ such as the NPF joins the bandwagon to oust Ibobi from the chair.
Queried whether he has met with chief minister Neiphiu Rio, Srivastava said he would soon be, the fact that he was in Nagaland. He also said he would be returning to Nagaland.
Also, JD-U national women’s president Dipti Sharma has urged women in Nagaland to be not just active, but be more proactive. “We are always only on the sidelines. We are politically not well-organized and we continue to be in the shadows of men,” Sharma responded when queried about her perspective about women in politics in Nagaland.
Also present with the leaders, was president of Nagaland’s JD-U unit Mhonjan Lotha. Lotha said “till today we are supporting DAN (the NPF-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland).” The JD-U unit is on ‘the verge’ of devising an action plan to have the NPF in the envisaged alliance in Manipur, he said.
Led by a chief minister who is considered one of India’s “best chief ministers” thanks to his wide reforms against corruption and strong hand against crime in Bihar, JD-U is currently one of North India’s most popular parties. Nitish Kumar is chief minister of Bihar thrice. The first term was brief while the current term is the second of two consecutive tenures since virtually wiping off Bihar’s opposition in 2005, in the biggest landslide victory by any political party in India in 20 years.
NPF leaders could not be contacted for comment at the time of filing this news report.
