DIMAPUR, March 4 - Claiming support of 32 MLAs, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and BJP Chief Ministerial candidate Neiphiu Rio met Nagaland Governor PB Acharya at Raj Bhavan in Kohima on Sunday to stake claim to form the next government in Nagaland.
Rio was accompanied by BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, lone JD (U) MLA G Kaito Aye, lone Independent MLA Tongpang Ozukum and other NDPP and BJP leaders.
After a meeting with Rio, Governor Acharya said the NDPP leader has the majority on his side and therefore should form the government. The Governor asked Rio to submit signatures of all the 32 MLAs supporting him by Monday.
NDPP and BJP forged a pre-poll alliance and contested the just concluded Nagaland Assembly election on 40:20 seat sharing arrangement. BJP won 12 seats while NDPP managed to get 18 seats.
NDPP was declared to have won 17 seats after the counting of votes on Saturday. But, Election Commission on Sunday announced that the Returning Officer had wrongly announced the result of Tenning Assembly constituency declaring NR Zeliang of Naga People�s Front (NPF) as the winner instead of Namri Nchang of NDPP. EC in an order on Sunday said Zeliang polled 6,850 votes while Nchang secured 7,018 votes and declared the latter winner from the seat.
As a result, NDPP-BJP alliance seats rose to 30. The alliance has roped in lone Independent MLA Tongpang Ozukum and lone JD(U) MLA G Kaito Aye to their side taking their tally to 32 in the 60-member House. Ozukum and JD(U) Nagaland on Sunday extended support to NDPP-BJP alliance and helped the allies to cross the majority mark.
Nevertheless, NPF still remained the single largest party with 26 seats.
National People�s Party (NPP) won two seats while JD (U) managed to get one. Both were pre-poll allies of Congress.
Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee president K Therie on his Facebook post on Sunday said Christian society in the State with 82 per cent literacy rate choosing corrupt money before future has reflected low quality of people. Congress drew a blank in this election though it put up 18 candidates. It had won eight seats in 2013 Nagaland Assembly elections.
PTI adds: BJP and its pre-poll ally NDPP, earlier today exuded confidence that they would be able to form a stable government in the State as the numbers were on their side.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said the pre-poll allies have got a �near simple majority� in the 60-member Assembly while NDPP leader and three-time Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said he was confident that their alliance will form the next government in Nagaland.
Highlighting the alliances� priorities when it forms the government, Rio said they have two top priorities � resolution of the Naga political issue as soon as possible and all-round development of Nagaland.
�We want a solution to the Naga political issue as early as possible and the second is the development aspect like road, railways and infrastructure,� he said.
NPF leader and outgoing Chief Minister TR Zeliang, however, has expressed interest in joining hands with BJP to form the government. � PTI
