Buoyed by the response at the recent Lok Sabha election on April 19, where the Congress had received an unexpected massive anti-BJP negative vote to give a tough fight to the ruling PDA consensus candidate, the party, hoping that this would be replayed has announced its decision to set up candidates for polls to the Urban Local Bodies across 36 towns and three municipal councils across Nagaland.
This was announced at Hotel Vivor Sunday, by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim, and Tripura, Girish Chodankar. He said the decision to field candidates for ULBs polls was to serve as encouragement for youth and women to strengthen local self-government and leadership.
Reflecting on the recent Lok Sabha election in Nagaland, Chodankar thanked the people, civil societies, and church bodies for ensuring a clean election, free from booth capturing and proxy voting. He expressed optimism about the Congress candidate’s prospects in the upcoming election results, expecting a favorable outcome.
The AICC general secretary described the Congress the principal opposition party, though its organisation has been badly hit due to defections after losing state elections consecutively since 2003 and having drawn a blank in 2018 and 2023.
Chodankar asserted that the Congress party remained as the only genuine opposition in Nagaland, aiming to offer a secular, progressive, and clean option to the electorate, distinct from the BJP and RSS politics dominating the current landscape. On AICC’s expectations, he said that pan India, the party was confident of forming the government along with its alliance partners.
He anticipated that more parties would join the alliance post-elections, forming a broad INDIA alliance to create an inclusive government excluding the BJP.
Chodankar expressed optimism that the true picture would be clear after the counting day, revealing widespread support for the INDIA alliance.
Chodankar highlighted that ULBs play a crucial role in grassroots governance, making decisions directly impacting the local populace. He maintained that the party’s involvement in ULB elections aligns with its constitutional and democratic duty to offer a viable option to the people of Nagaland. He noted that while local body elections usually do not see direct interference from the party or AICC, this time, they were actively involved due to the elections being conducted on party symbols.
Chodankar ULB elections serve as a training ground for future politicians, urging maximum participation from youth and women. He assured that the AICC was ready to provide guidance and support to build strong grassroots leaders who will engage in clean politics and serve the people of Nagaland.
He expressed confidence in the NPCC’s leadership and their commitment to making the ULB elections a true representation of grassroots politics.
Answering queries about candidate representation, Chodankar mentioned that the party aims to field as many candidates as possible, particularly focusing on youth and women to ensure clean future politics.
He stated that the PCC had initially opted for a restrained approach, but following a meeting on Friday, it was decided that the party must actively engage with the electorate. He emphasized that it is PCC’s responsibility to offer a good, clean option to the people of Nagaland, thereby providing them with a meaningful choice in their vote.
He reiterated that Congress is presenting this choice to the people of Nagaland, urging them to decide and letting the people select who should represent them. NPCC president Supongmeren Jamir along with other senior party leaders were also present at the press briefing.