Nagaland: Election Commission warns Congress candidate against religious appeal ahead of polls

On the eve of the General Elections to the Lok Sabha 2024, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Nagaland issued a stern caution to S Supongmeren Jamir, the Congress(l) candidate for the Nagaland Parliamentary Constituency. The warning came in response to a complaint lodged by Imchainba, President of the BJP Dimapur District, alleging a breach of electoral conduct.

The complaint, received on April 17, 2024, and subsequently forwarded to the Election Commission of India, pertained to letters penned by Jamir. The letters, addressed to local councils, purportedly contained appeals of a religious nature, warning against the perceived consequences of voting for the incumbent BJP government.

According to reports from the Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer of Dimapur, the letters indeed bore genuine content, expressing concerns about threats and persecution faced by religious minorities, and cautioning against potential implications of continued BJP governance.

The missives, allegedly translated from the Ao dialect, further purported that the BJP and RSS were collaborating to homogenize India into a singular culture and religion, thereby implicating a communal appeal in the electoral process.

The Chief Electoral Officer, citing provisions from the Representation of People Act, 1951, and the Model Code of Conduct, emphasized that soliciting votes on religious grounds constitutes a corrupt practice and contravenes established electoral norms. Additionally, such appeals were deemed to exacerbate existing societal divisions, a violation of the prescribed conduct guidelines.