Nagaland is set to hold its Urban Local Body (ULB) elections on June 26, marking a significant milestone as the first municipal elections to include 33% reservation for women. This historic event comes after a two-decade hiatus in local body polls.A total of 669 candidates, including 238 women, have filed their nominations for the elections across three municipal councils and 36 town councils, according to the State Election Commission. The final day for filing nominations was Tuesday, with document scrutiny scheduled for Thursday. The last date for the withdrawal of candidatures is June 18, and votes will be counted on June 29.
The decision to conduct these elections is seen as a considerable achievement, given that previous attempts were thwarted by objections from tribal bodies and civil society organizations. These groups opposed the reservation for women and the imposition of taxes on land and properties, arguing that these provisions violated the special rights of Nagaland under Article 371(A) of the Indian Constitution. Opposition reached a peak in 2017, with clashes over the proposed elections resulting in the deaths of two people and injuries to several others. Violence led to the burning of the Kohima Municipal Council office and other government buildings in the state capital and surrounding areas, prompting the government to postpone the elections.
Despite these challenges, the current electoral process has moved forward with notable participation from candidates of the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This participation comes despite a boycott call by the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organization (ENPO), which represents seven Naga tribes from six eastern districts and has been advocating for a separate ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’ due to prolonged neglect of their region. The ENPO had also urged citizens to abstain from the recent Lok Sabha elections for Nagaland’s sole parliamentary seat. The upcoming ULB elections represent a critical juncture for Nagaland, aimed at establishing more inclusive governance and addressing longstanding regional disparities. The inclusion of women in the local governance framework is anticipated to bring diverse perspectives and promote gender equality in the state’s political landscape.
