The Nagaland BJP officially commenced its organizational elections on Saturday, starting with the election of Mandal presidents.
Addressing the media at the BJP office in Dimapur, party general secretary and state Returning Officer, Sangathan Parv, Manai Konyak, announced that elections were conducted for 60 Mandal (Assembly Constituency) presidents across the state. Of these, 53 Mandal presidents were elected, while elections for three constituencies were kept in abeyance, and four positions would be filled by ad-hoc presidents.
He further said that nominations for 14 district president posts will begin on Monday, with results expected the following day. The election for the state BJP president is tentatively scheduled for January 9 or 10, culminating in the national-level election.
Manai revealed that 42 applications had been received for the district president positions. For the state president election, voting, if conducted, will involve 60 council members, 33 cluster in-charges, two MLAs, one MP, and 14 district presidents.
However, the central leadership has advised avoiding elections wherever possible, he said.
Meanwhile, State BJP president Benjamin Yepthomi informed that former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan and BJP national secretary Anil Antony, who also oversees Nagaland and Meghalaya, have been appointed as National Observers for the state president election and are expected to visit Nagaland for the process.
On the BJP membership drive, Yepthomi described it as “very successful”, with over 2 lakh primary members registered, particularly from Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) areas. He noted that 50,000 new members joined during the drive, bringing the total number of active members to approximately 4,200, excluding general party supporters.