Guwahati: The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Sunday announced Kitoho S. Rotokha as their first candidate to run in the February 27 Nagaland assembly elections from the Ghaspani II constituency.
Rotokha is the first official candidate among all political parties running in the state elections.
Rotokha’s candidature was announced by Nagaland JDU president NSN Lotha in the presence of JDU national president Rajiv Ranjan Lalan Singh, general secretary and in charge of north east Afaque Ahmed Khan, Rajya Sabha MP Aneel Hegde and Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha at a party’s candidature declaration programme, attended by hundreds of his supporters, at Dimapur town hall.
With just over 29,000 votes, the Ghaspani II constituency is likely to see a three-way race between the JDU, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, and the Republican Party of India (Athawale).
In his speech, Rotokha pledged that if he wins, he will put a special emphasis on empowering women and young people, fostering good governance by fostering development across all sectors, helping the unemployed find gainful employment, and reviving traditional industries like pig farming and poultry production, among others.
He claimed to be already on the job and to have been meeting with the constituency’s inhabitants for the past eight months in order to complete his goal.
The constituency’s residents were reassured by Rotokha, a member of numerous social organisations, that the triumph would be “ours” and that his efforts would not be in vain.
JDU national president Singh stated in his speech that the people of Nagaland felt misled by the BJP administration because the party had pledged “election for solution” prior to the state’s 2018 assembly elections.
He stated that five years have passed since the last election and queried what progress had been made toward resolving the Naga problem.
He asserted that the Framework Agreement, which was signed on August 3, 2015, between the central government and the NSCN (IM), was being ignored. He asserted that the JDU, which will guarantee the implementation of the Naga solution, is essential to the formation of the future Nagaland administration.
JDU general secretary Khan, MP Hegde, Bihar minister Jha, Nagaland JDU chief Lotha, besides village elders and youth leaders of the constituency, also spoke on the occasion.
In a later media briefing, Singh stated that the party has not yet made a decision regarding the number of candidates it will run in the upcoming elections. However, he said that state JDU president Lotha will run for the Tyui seat, which is now held by senior BJP leader and deputy chief minister Y Patton.
The party will only field electable candidates, according to Lotha.