(the irony is If Narendra Modi has a blessing in Rahul Gandhi, Neiphiu Rio has NPF.....helping him )
New Delhi
Does it bring some relief in the NDPP camp?
It is reliably learnt that NPF chief Shurhozelie, whose party is NDA partner in Manipur, will skip the much hyped NDA bash on July 18.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly taking personal interest for the grand success of the meeting which has been convened just two days before the crucial Monsoon session of Parliament.
No reason has been attributed for the former Nagaland Chief Minister and a proponent
of old-school regional and anti-Congress politics Mr Shurhozelie to miss the grand saffron-party
led show.
Notably, important issues related to Manipur and Nagaland will be discussed at length
during the session that gets underway on July 20 and will continue till August 11. Observers feel this session will be probably the last 'full steam working session' of Parliament before 2024 general elections. By the time winter session is held in November-December, the country
is certainly expected to be in poll mode. Issues related to Eastern Nagaland will also probably
figure during the 15-sittings session.
From Nagaland's opposition parties point of view, LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan too has been invited by BJP national president J P Nadda for the July 18th NDA meet. Similar invitation has been extended by Nadda to Shurhozelie, whose party despite winning 26 MLAs could not form an alternative government in 2018.
"The only difference is the letter to Chirag is in Hindi," a source said. In the present Nagaland assembly, NPF has only two MLAs and the regional outfit could see leadership change in October.
A number of key bills, including the Data Protection Bill and Forest Bill are listed to be tabled during the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament.
ends
Blogger and veteran Shurhozelie
Gamechanger ??? Nadda's invitation to NPF president Shurhozelie to attend NDA meet on July 18 has political significance
(BJP or JP Nadda could have invited NPF legislature party leader in Manipur for the much talked about NDA meet. Choosing a leader with 'base in Nagaland' state is a crucial takeaway.)
The July 18 NDA meet is also seen as a great step by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues to reach out to regional partners including the likes of Akali Dal, which was one its crucial partner. The changed dynamics in Maharashtra politics has already given a big setback to the so-called opposition unity efforts by Congress and other parties such as Trinamool Congress and JD-U.
'Nagaland Page'
NPF is an "important constituent" of NDA, says Nadda's missive to Shurhozelie, a former Nagaland Chief Minister and champion of anti-Congress 'regional politics'...
NPF is BJP ally in Manipur and the saffron party needs Nagas there now.
The NDA government has made remarkable achievements in key sectors including ensuring welfare of the poor and marginalised, economic development, the reawakening of India's cultural pride...," Nadda says in his letter to Shurhozelie.
"As a valuable partner of the NDA coalition, you have played a significant role in India's developmental journey of Sewa (service), Sushan (good governance) and Garib Kalyan (welfare of the poor) under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji", the letter says.
The NPF is BJP ally in Manipur and under the changed circumstances now in the violence-hit Manipur, the saffron party needs Nagas there. Technically it will not be erroneous to describe NPF as an 'asset' which brings value addition to the politics of BJP both in Nagaland and in Manipur.
The NPF has been a BJP ally since 2003 and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has benefited from the alliance. But in 2017 in the run up to the 2018 assembly polls, Rio 'helped' float NDPP led by a former Congress veteran Chingwang Konyak.
Of course, post-2018 elections, blessed with backing from the then BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, NDPP has stuck to the BJP as an ally in Nagaland and the NPF was pushed out into the margins.
However, the NPF has continued to be a reliable BJP partner in Manipur.
Lately, certain skirmishes have surfaced between NDPP and BJP in Nagaland and there are reasons to believe that the saffron party top leaders have been quite 'displeased' the manner Chief Minister Rio-led NDPP made a big fuss over the Uniform Civil Code after the Prime Minister pushed the same into country's political debate in Bhopal.
The BJP sources say they did not expect NDPP to make a big issue of the UCC knowing fully well that no less than the Prime Minister has pushed for the same and NDPP is a regional partner sharing power with the Lotus outfit in Nagaland since 2018.
At an organisational level crucial meeting in Guwahati on July 6, senior BJP leaders did not rule out the possibility of the saffron party contesting 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Nagaland.
Generally an impression was given especially by the NDPP camp that as Rajya Sabha berth was taken by the BJP, it would not contest the Lok Sabha polls in Nagaland and let its regional partner contest the same.
"Things are just too early....whether there is a candidate or not, the party organisation continues as a permanent feature and so the karyakarta has to keep working," - a key party functionary told senior BJP leaders in Guwahati.
A pro-NDPP BJP leader was virtually snubbed when he was told by the senior leader that "Nothing has been finalised...It is too early, Whether we will contest lone Nagaland Lok Sabha seat or not will be decided only at the 11th hour".
It is understood that some BJP leaders believe that a number of saffron party nominees were defeated in February 27 assembly elections by parties such as NPP, NCP and JD-U and most of them were allegedly backed by the NDPP.
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