Nagaland’s ruling party to decide on merger with NPF on September 12

Nagaland’s ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) will take a final call on its proposed merger with the Naga People’s Front (NPF) during a closed-door Central Executive Board meeting on September 12, party leaders confirmed on September 8.

Top leaders and members of NDPP’s frontal organisations have already received an informal briefing on the matter, which will be discussed in detail at the upcoming meeting. The leadership has reiterated that any decision will follow the party’s constitutional process.

The NPF’s Central Executive Council, in a resolution passed on Saturday, urged Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to rejoin the party, calling his leadership crucial to its future and to the broader interests of the Naga people.

Any decision on the merger is expected to significantly reshape Nagaland’s political landscape. The NDPP, formed in 2017, came to power in 2018 in alliance with the BJP, and has since consolidated its strength. In the 2023 assembly elections, it won 25 seats and later expanded to 32 after seven NCP legislators joined its ranks.

The BJP holds 12 seats, while the Peoples’ Democratic Alliance (PDA) government enjoys additional support from 16 MLAs belonging to smaller parties and independents. The NPF, once the state’s leading party, has been reduced to two members in the current House. (With inputs from PTI)