JD-U dissolves Nagaland unit after MLA, state unit chief back Neiphiu Rio govt

Nagaland JD-U president Senchumo Lotha and the party’s lone MLA Zwenga Seb met the chief minister Neiphiu Rio on March 8 and handed over letter of support to the NDPP-BJP coalition government.

The Janata Dal-United leadership has dissolved the party’s Nagaland unit after its lone legislator and its state unit chief pledged support to the coalition government led by Neiphiu Rio.

Janata Dal (United) president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh. (ANI)

“The Nagaland state president of our party has given a letter of support to the chief minister there without consulting the central leadership of JD-U, which is high indiscipline and an arbitrary step. That’s why JD-U has dissolved the state committee of the party in Nagaland with immediate effect,” a statement by JD-U national general secretary Afaq Ahmed Khan, who is party’s in-charge of Northeast affairs, said.

Nagaland JD-U president Senchumo Lotha and the party’s lone MLA Zwenga Seb met the chief minister Neiphiu Rio on March 8 and handed over letter of support to the NDPP-BJP coalition government.

Seb won the Tse Minyu seat in the recently concluded state elections.

JD (U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said the party learnt about the MLA’s move on Wednesday and promptly took action.

“We came to know about the letter of support by the lone JD-U MLA on Wednesday. It was done without our consent and prior information. We decided to dissolve the state unit immediately and will soon constitute a new committee,” he said.

The JD (U) president also lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing the party of luring its legislators. “They earlier did the same thing in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur as well,” he said.

Of the three Bihar-based parties, JD (U), RJD and LJP (R), which contested the Nagaland assembly elections, the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (R) performed well and won two out of the 16 seats that it contested.

JD (U), which had hoped to qualify for a national party status on the back of its performance in the North-East, could win only one out of seven seats it contested.

JD (U) had been contesting Nagaland polls since 2003 when it fielded candidates on 13 of the 60 seats and won three, with a vote share of 5.8%. In 2008, it contested three seats and lost all; in 2013, it contested three seats and won one. In the last polls in 2018, it fielded candidates for 14 seats and won one seat, with a total vote share of 5.49%. This year, it contested seven seats and won one seat with a vote share of 3.3%.

Defections from JD-U in North east

Sept 2022

Five of the six Janata Dal (United) MLAs joined the ruling BJP in Manipur days after Nitish Kumar-led party snapped ties with the saffron party in Bihar.

Dec 2020

Six of the JD-U legislators in Arunachal Pradesh joined the BJP, bringing down the party’s strength in the 60-member assembly to just one while boosting the BJP’s tally to 48.