Nagaland bypoll records 77.12% turnout

The election was necessitated after Shurhozelie’s son Khriehu Liezietsu resigned last month to enable his father be an elected member of the Nagaland assembly in order to retain the CM’s chair.

More than 77% of the 16,235 electorate voted in the bypoll to the Northern Angami-1 seat in Nagaland where Shurhozelie Liezietsu, who lost the chief minister’s chair 10 days ago to TR Zeliang after a fortnight-long power struggle, is seeking election.

Former Nagaland chief minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu was required to be elected as MLA to retain his chair, but was ousted before that. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Shurhozelie’s lone rival is independent candidate Kekhrie Yhome.

The election was necessitated after Shurhozelie’s son Khriehu Liezietsu resigned last month to enable his father be an elected member of the Nagaland assembly in order to retain the CM’s chair. However, the result is virtually inconsequential for Shurhozelie after having been ousted as CM.

Shurhozelie heads a virtual faction of the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) that is opposed to that of Zeliang. The pro-Shurhozelie NPF suspected Zeliang and his loyalists backed Yhome in a bid to end the former chief minister’s political career.

The result is scheduled on Monday. But the Supreme Court, acting on a petition by Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC), issued a notice to the Election Commission on Friday, saying “the result of bye-election shall be subject to the outcome of the matter”.

“We had filed the petition since the bye-election is against electoral provisions that deem a bye-election unnecessary if the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is less than one,” NPCC president K Therie told HT.