Kohima, Jan. 22: Despite the recent concert of unity, planks in Nagaland?s Opposition alliance are split wide open. Disputes over sharing of seats are threatening to frustrate the Opposition?s aim to pull the rug from beneath a firmly-placed Congress chief minister S.C. Jamir.
The much-touted combined rally slated for today and supposed to be flagged off by defence minister George Fernandes, too, stands postponed, sources said.
The main partners of the Opposition Nagaland Democratic Alliance ? the BJP and the Nagaland People?s Front ? are still at loggerheads on the number of seats they would contest and share. ?Both the BJP and NPF want to contest all the 60 seats,? state BJP president N. Rhetso said.
BJP leader and former chief minister Hokishe Sema was made the leader of the alliance after a meeting between the defence minister and NPF leaders.
BJP sources here said names of candidates for the alliance have to be declared on January 29 if both partners wanted positive results. A senior NPF functionary said that they have agreed ?in principle? to some proposals made by the BJP, but sources said that might be anything but a breakthrough.
The Opposition alliance met yesterday, but no solution was forthcoming. Another meeting has been called on Friday.
Yesterday?s meeting was attended by representatives from the BJP, the NPF, the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal. However, the main leaders of these allying parties were not present at the news conference. The meeting decided to constitute a co-ordination committee comprising five members from each party.
It also decided to invite other non-Congress parties like the Samata Party, the NCP and the Nagaland Democratic Party to join the alliance.
Whereas the meeting ?decided in principle? on maintaining the Opposition alliance, major issues like seat adjustment and a common minimum programme were deferred for dissuasion. Problems on seat adjustment were apparent as Janata Dal (United) state president Huska Sumi said his party would contest at least 20 seats.
The NPF and the BJP?s resolution to contest all the 60 seats also remains to be sorted out. Asked if personal ambitions of party members were standing in way of a stable alliance, the leader said if so, they would have to be put aside.