People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) acknowledged that the overwhelming mandate in the urban local body (ULB) elections was an indication of the positive mandate bestowed upon the ruling coalition under the leadership of chief minister Neiphiu Rio.
This was contained in a joint statement by Ministers KG Kenye and Temjen Imna Along who congratulated and extended their sincere appreciation to all government and non-government agencies for having made commendable efforts and contributed towards the holding of peaceful and successful elections and extending sincere appreciation to the electorate of the areas where elections to the ULBs were held
The PDA ministers their joint statement was issued to reflect the accurate information on the alliance and the unity of the PDA.
They noted that much had been said and reported on various media platforms and that there was a lot of misinformation and speculation on the PDA.
The duo asserted that the alliance between NDPP and BJP was as “strong as ever” and the PDA government was functioning smoothly.
The ministers reminded that the alliance contested the Lok Sabha election with a joint PDA candidate, but lamented that the candidate lost the election. Despite the setback, they said the result had been positively accepted by the alliance with humility as it had utmost respect towards the mandate of the people.
The signatories said the Lok Sabha election was immediately followed by the elections to the ULBs across all urban towns except in the eastern region.
The ministers clarified that both the NDPP and BJP had agreed to friendly contest in their respective constituencies in the ULB elections with local understanding in certain areas.
They said in those areas, the desire of party workers was to contest the elections, considering the fact that these were grassroots level elections, and therefore it was agreed to have friendly contests in only three councils.
The ministers said that these contests were friendly in nature and had not impacted the joint teamwork of the PDA in any manner and that the state government continue to function with cohesion and understanding under a spirit of collective teamwork and responsibility.
They reiterated that the positive spirit of the alliance will continue to be upheld even in the formation of the ULBs across the state with an inclusive approach wherein both the parties would work collectively with team spirit and unity.
The ministers said their declaration was to motivate and encourage the partners to make more dedicated efforts towards serving the people of Nagaland in an inclusive and just manner. The PDA ministers appealed all sections to strengthen unity and oneness as they remain committed to serve every citizen of Nagaland.