Our northeastern states have long been a metaphor for instability, typically caused by the buying and selling of legislators’ allegiances, or on account of the shifting political convenience of prominent factions in a legislature, usually driven by the political market place. Nagaland has confirmed this yet again, endorsing the widely held view that states with small legislatures easily fall prey to unexpected happenings. T.R. Zeliang of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) had been ousted as chief minister in February following his government’s policy of 33 per cent reservation for women in civic polls, which led to sustained riots orchestrated by the Central Nagaland Tribes Council.
But in under five months, on Wednesday, Mr Zeliang was back in the saddle as CM. The NPF’s 81-year-old president, Shurhozelie Liezietsu, who had been made to accept the mantle of CM following Mr Zeliang’s forced ouster, is now out in the cold. The inner workings of the NPF, on account of which this astonishing development has come about, appear to be a mystery. Given the BJP’s proclaimed intent to have the eight northeastern states flying its flag before long, speculation could centre on whether the saffron party has had anything to do with the recent political events, as was the case in Arunachal Pradesh not so long ago. Strangely, Mr Zeliang has been expelled from the NPF although NPF legislators still back him. Is this big money power at work by any chance?
