Nagaland deputy minister's 2028 target: BJP to contest all 60 seats in state

Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Y Patton, on September 5, set an ambitious target of contesting all 60 assembly constituencies in the 2028 elections and forming a BJP-led government in the state.

Speaking at the BJP Nagaland state executive meeting and organisational workshop in Dimapur, Patton urged legislators and workers to work with sincerity and unity to realise this goal. “We want to see a BJP government in Nagaland,” he said, adding that the party must not restrict itself to a limited role under the seat-sharing agreement with the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP).

Referring to the current seat-sharing arrangement with the ruling NDPP, he questioned, "How long can we continue sharing seats with others?"

He called upon party workers to aim big.

In both the 2018 and 2023 assembly polls, the BJP contested only 20 seats in an agreement with the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP).    

Patton questioned why the party should limit itself.   

"Is there any resolution stating that the BJP cannot contest more than 20 seats or win more than 12?" he wondered.    

He emphasised the need to empower grassroots workers, stating, "It is because of the karyakartas that we are here today."

Patton urged elected members to engage not just in their own constituencies but across all the 60 seats, adding that the strength and reach of the BJP in Nagaland will depend on collective effort.    

Calling for unity, he said internal criticism must be set aside to achieve the shared goal of forming a BJP-led government in the state.

State BJP president Benjamin Yepthomi, in his keynote address, said, "Our greatest asset is our karyakartas -- the ordinary men and women who work day and night for the party and the nation."    

He called upon workers to make the BJP a household name in the state.    

"As we discuss our resolutions, strategies, and organisational plans, let us rise above all differences and work with unity of purpose," Yepthomi added.