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Congress lags behind in Nagaland

Special Correspondent

Guwahati: The Nagaland People’s Front (NPF)-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) on Saturday emerged the front runner to stake claim for power in Nagaland for a second term. The DAN constituents together secured 29 of the 57 seats, the results of which have been declared, and the alliance claimed to have the support of the independents to form the coalition government.

The Congress bagged 22 seats. The results in three constituencies, known to be NPF strongholds, are still awaited.

The NPF, led by the former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, won 25 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Nationalist Congress Party got two each, while the independents won six.

The NPF had forged a pre-poll alliance with the NCP, the BJP and the Janata Dal (United) to defeat the Congress but these parties contested on independent manifestos.

Mr. Rio told reporters in Kohima: “We would have got more seats had the UPA government not illegally dismissed our government.”

The NPF has improved its tally from 19 in 2003 to 25. The Congress increased its tally by only one seat from the 21 it won in the last polls. The BJP’s account stood reduced to just two seats from seven it last time.

Mr. Rio was re-elected from the Northern Angami constituency by a huge margin of 10,761 votes for the fifth term, while Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader I. Imkong was re-elected with a margin of 3,926 votes from Jangpetkong.

The former Congress Chief Minister, K.L. Chisi, won from Dimapur-I by a margin of 2,311 votes.

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