10 Northeast parties form common political platform

Ten regional parties of the northeast today formed North East Regional Political Front (NERPF), a platform that will consider putting up joint candidates in the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio will be the NERPF Convenor, while Asom Gana Parishad president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta will be its chief advisor.
Rio said "This (NERPF) is a political party. It is a federation of the regional parties... We will discuss about putting up joint candidates."
Besides NPF and AGP, the other members of NERPF are Hills State Democratic Party, Meghalaya United Democratic Party, Manipur Peoples Party, Manipur State Congress Party, Manipur Democratic Peoples Front, Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura, Peoples Party of Arunachal and Mizo National Front.

On the Front's relation with Congress and BJP, he said "We will be equidistant from them and we will have equi-closeness with them."
Asked if NERPF would work for formation of a Third Front at the Centre, he said "It is pre-mature to talk about it."

"We have resolved to form this Front to safeguard the territorial, cultural, social, political and economic front of the region. We will strive to protect its ethnic identity ... Lok Sabha election will be the first thing for us," Rio, who is a senior leader of Naga People's Front, said.
NERPF will have its permanent headquarters here and will deliberate on national and international issues affecting the north east, he said.

"Delhi has always looked at us as one entity, that is north east and Assam is the mother of this region. That is why we have formed this platform to fight for the common issues," he added.