General Elections 2014: Nagaland– State Profile

Neha Attre

The Lok Sabha elections in Nagaland will be held in the second phase on April 9 and counting of the votes will take place on May 16.

The state has only one Parliamentary constituency – Nagaland Lok Sabha constituency.

The prominent political parties in the state are Nagaland Peoples Front (NPF), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (INC).

In the Assembly elections 2013, ruling Naga Peoples Front (NPF) returned to power with an absolute majority after winning 38 seats.

The state has 60 seats in the Assembly out of which 59 are reserved for the candidates from Scheduled Tribes.

The current chief minister of the state, Neiphiu Rio, has been in power from the last 10 years.

The Naga issue has been dominant in the elections with a demand to unite all Naga-populated areas around the state. After years of violence, a ceasefire has been in effect in the state since 1997.

Opinion polls have predicted that the ruling NPF will win the lone seat in the upcoming election.