BJP joins hands with NDPP for Nagaland assembly polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced that they are going to contest the upcoming assembly elections in alliance with Nationalist Democratic People's Party (NDPP) led by former chief minister Neiphiu Rio (NDPP).

National General Secretary Ram Madhav in an official statement said that, "@BJP4Nagaland is going to contest upcoming assembly elections in alliance with NDPP. MoS Home Shri @KirenRijiju, NDPP's Mr N Rio, Nagaland BJP President Mr Visasolie & other senior leaders holding a joint press conference in Guwahati."

The BJP has left its 15-year-old alliance with the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF).

The decision was taken into effect in New Delhi on February 2, at a meeting between BJP president Amit Shah and Rio in the presence of BJP's Nagaland president Visasolie Lhoungu, the party's state media cell convener.

Polling in Tripura will take place on February 18 and Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 27. The results for all the three northeastern states will be declared on March 3.

The terms of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura assemblies will end on March 6, March 13 and March 14 respectively. All the three states have 60 seats each.