Poll boycott cannot solve vexed problem

The poll boycott call by the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization has cast a shadow over electioneering for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state over the delay in resolution of their long-pending statehood demand. If ENPO sticks to its decision, polling will be affected in one-third of the assembly segments in the state, which is unwarranted. The participation of every single elector in every election is critical to strengthening Indian democracy, as the opportunity to elect their representative comes only after five years. The initiative by the Nagaland State Cabinet to break the impasse by appealing to the Eastern Nagaland Government Officers’ Association to persuade the ENPO to lift the boycott is laudable. Whether it will cut ice with the ENPO will be known only when the organization comes up with a fresh position. With the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) already in force and the polling for the lone Lok Sabha seat scheduled for April 19, there is no scope for any official declaration by the Central Government to resolve the issue. Only the new central government to be formed after the declaration of the results on June 4 will be able to take a call. The ENPO has also written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 1, conveying its decision to uphold the boycott call. The ENPO informed the ECI that the people of Eastern Nagaland adopted a resolution on March 19 to abstain from participating in any central and state elections “against failure to settle the creation of a Frontier Nagaland Territory as assured by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) on December 7, 2023, to be settled before the announcement of the MCC.” The ENPO had earlier called for boycott of Nagaland State Assembly elections held last year but lifted it barely three days before the last date of submission nominations in February 2023, following assurance by the MHA officials of reaching and implementing a mutually agreed solution after the completion of the assembly poll process. Prior to the March 19 resolution, the ENPO and other organisations had adopted a resolution nearly 20 days before the announcement of the poll dates to boycott the elections and not “accede to any assurance” by the MHA to be implemented after the parliamentary elections. Lessons need to be learned from such complexities so that all possibilities are considered before any assurance is articulated in response to a long-pending demand by organisations having considerable influence in certain geographical areas and among people. Clarity on the assurances and positions is crucial for creating the much-needed space for all stakeholders to appreciate the complexities in the course of the negotiations. Northeastern states being in a strategic area, the central government often needs to consider geopolitics in the neighbourhood before implementing any structural changes in politico-administrative mechanisms in the region. However, if any such complexities continue to cloud the proposed solution, then it needs to be explained to negotiating parties so that delay does appear to be a time-buying exercise. The current deadlock in Nagaland overshadowing the Lok Sabha polls in the state is reflective of a trust deficit arising from a lack of clarity over the delay in reaching a mutually agreed solution. The leaders of ENPO and other organisations need to reflect on whether a poll boycott would serve any purpose other than the electors of 20 assembly segments missing their opportunity to cast their votes when there is no scope for any solution till the poll process is over while electors in the rest 40 assembly segments of the lone parliamentary constituency are going to cast their votes. In the case of the assembly polls, the boycott call in one-third of the assembly seats had given rise to a deeper constitutional crisis, which prompted the central government to rush to come up with a solution. The statehood demand stemmed from long years of development disparity in six districts comprising Eastern Nagaland areas and the successive central and state governments overlooking it. Delaying a solution to a vexing problem only complicates it. If areas in Eastern Nagaland continue to remain backward and deprived, the clamour for statehood will only grow louder, and the government may miss the opportunity to resolve it with an alternative solution in lieu of statehood. The proposal to create a territorial autonomy under the provision of the Sixth Schedule as in the line of Bodoland Territorial Region has been learned to have been explored. All three key stakeholders—the central government, ENPO, and the Nagaland government—sitting across the negotiation table to conclude the process as soon as a new government is installed at the centre is essential to preventing escalation in the situation. The ENPO withdrawing the poll boycott call and participating in the election is crucial for creating a conducive atmosphere for the smooth conduct of Lok Sabha polls in Nagaland.