Neiphiu Rio's NPF wins outright in Nagaland
What happened
Naga People's Front won a landslide majority in Nagaland on its own, without needing any coalition partners.
It won 38 of the 60 seats.
That left it 7 seats clear of a majority.
NPF took 47.0% of the vote, well ahead of the runner-up's 24.9%.
The Indian National Congress finished second, with 8 seats.
The campaign
The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the 12th Nagaland Legislative Assembly election on 11 January, setting polling for 23 February.1
Incumbent Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio led the Naga People's Front's campaign, standing again from Northern Angami II. It fielded candidates in all 60 seats, against 56 from Congress, 15 from the Nationalist Congress Party and 11 from the Bharatiya Janata Party.2
BJP national president Nitin Gadkari promised voters a separate Frontier Nagaland state if the party came to power nationally in the next general election.3
On 20 February, a bomb blast near Dimapur railway station killed one person. On 22 February, Congress candidate Chuba Chang died during his campaign in Tuensang Sadar I, and the Election Commission adjourned polling there until 23 March.45
- 1Election Commission Announces 2013 Nagaland Poll Schedule — 2013 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
- 2Incumbent Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio Seeks Re-Election, NPF Fields Full Slate — 2013 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
- 3BJP's Nitin Gadkari Promises a Separate Frontier Nagaland State — 2013 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
- 4Bomb Blast Near Dimapur Railway Station Kills One Before Polling — 2013 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
- 5Congress Candidate P. Chuba Chang Dies During Campaign, Poll Adjourned — 2013 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election, 2013 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
What changed
INC suffered a collapse, losing most of the ground it had held at the previous election.
12 of its seats moved directly to NPF, the single biggest shift of the 34 seats that changed hands.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, climbed +4.4 pp to 91.4% — the highest recorded in the state's history.
Notable numbers
The tightest fight was in Mokokchung Town, Nagaland, decided by 47 votes — the margin, how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second.
Northern Angami-Ii, Nagaland saw the widest margin of the election, with the winner finishing 70.6% of the vote ahead of the runner-up.
Longkhim Chare, Nagaland recorded the highest turnout of any seat, 98.3%.
Ghaspani-I, Nagaland was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 58,728 on its rolls.
The backdrop
NPF traces to the Naga Nationalist Democratic Party, formed in 1980, which took its current name at a convention in Kohima in 2002.6
- 6Nagaland's Leading Regional Party Renamed Naga People's Front — Naga People's Front, Naga National Democratic Party