The two major regional parties of Nagaland – the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), formed in 2017 by NPF rebels who supported Rio – merged under the NPF banner on Saturday.
Announcing the merger during the NDPP’s General Convention, Rio said the decision was driven by a “shared vision” of “one strong regional party that represents our people’s aspirations and addresses the Naga political issue more effectively.”
Later in the day, Rio was named the newly elected Leader of the NPF Legislature Party. The NDPP held 32 of the 60 seats in the Nagaland assembly, while the NPF had two. The NDPP and the BJP, which has 12 MLAs, were coalition partners in the Nagaland government. Earlier this week, the NPF was formally inducted into their ‘People’s Democratic Alliance’ government. While the NPF had only just joined the ruling combine, Nagaland has functioned with an ‘opposition-less’ government this term, with all other MLAs – five from the NPP, two each from the LJP (Ram Vilas) and RPI (Athawale), one from the JD(U), and four Independents – pledging support to the government.
The merger also marks a revival of the NPF, once a regional powerhouse, which had weakened after Rio’s exit. The party had led Nagaland for 15 years in alliance with the BJP from 2003 to 2018. Rio served as Chief Minister under the NPF from 2003 to 2013 before becoming Nagaland’s MP in 2014.
In 2017, Rio left the NPF after a leadership fallout and joined the NDPP, formed by his supporters from the NPF. The NPF’s influence declined sharply after that. Though it emerged as the single largest party in the 2018 assembly elections, the NDPP and BJP allied to form the government. In 2021, many NPF MLAs, including key leaders, joined the NDPP. By the 2023 elections, the party was so depleted it fielded only 22 candidates and won two seats.
Momentum for the merger grew last month when the NPF passed a resolution appealing to Rio to return to his “original political platform” and assume leadership.
“Today the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party in Nagaland has officially merged with the Naga People’s Front to form a unified and robust regional political party under the banner of the NPF. This strategic consolidation brings together the strengths of both parties, resulting in a total of 34 NPF Members of the Legislative Assembly, including the Speaker of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly. The Speaker has formally acknowledged the merger and issued an official Acceptance Letter,” read a statement from the NPF Saturday.
