• ENPO declares boycott of Lok Sabha elections in Nagaland

    North East
    ENPO declares boycott of Lok Sabha elections in Nagaland
    All residents of eastern Nagaland will abstain from voting in these elections by the decision......


    Digital desk: At a public meeting on Tuesday at Tuensang headquarters, the Eastern Nagaland People's Organization (ENPO) and tribal bodies unanimously decided to follow their "Chenmcho resolution" from February 23, 2024, which forbids them from taking part in any state or federal elections in protest of the Indian government's delay in addressing the offer to create Frontier Nagaland Territory.

    All residents of eastern Nagaland will abstain from voting in these elections by the decision.

    The decision was made following a full day of discussion over the Indian government's inability to finalize its offer to create Frontier Nagaland Territory before the announcement of the model code of conduct for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as promised by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on December 7, 2023.

    Following the meeting, ten organizations, including the ENPO, released a joint statement stating that the ENPO has been given the go-ahead to develop plans for the resolution's effective execution. 

    It was also decided at the meeting that the ENPO would write a letter to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs requesting that it not consider any reports or recommendations about the Frontier Nagaland Territory from sources other than the ENPO.

    In collaboration with the Easter Nagaland Legislators Union (ENLU), it also approved the ENPO's plan to convene another public gathering at Tuensang headquarters in a week, this time with the participation of 20 ENLU members.

    The meeting also decided to lift all current limitations related to the public emergency in eastern Nagaland, effective March 21. Nonetheless, the statement stated that the state of public emergency will remain in effect until further notice. 

    In protest of the Indian government's protracted offer to settle the matter of creating Frontier Nagaland Territory, which would have included six eastern districts of Nagaland, the tribal groups and frontal organizations under the ENPO announced a state of public emergency in eastern Nagaland on March 5.