NPF finishes first, but Nagaland's assembly hangs
What happened
Naga People's Front finished first again, but fell short of enough seats to govern alone.
It won 26 of the 60 seats.
No party crossed the 31-seat majority mark, leaving a hung house — a result where no single party wins enough seats to govern alone.
The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party came second with 18 seats, its first seats ever in Nagaland's assembly.
The campaign
NPF legislators loyal to former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio broke away in May 2017 to form a new party, renamed the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party that October. Rio joined it formally in January 2018, after NPF ended its alliance with the BJP.1
The Election Commission announced the poll schedule on 18 January, setting nominations from 31 January to 7 February, polling for 27 February and counting for 3 March.2
On 22 January, former Chief Minister Chishi joined the BJP along with 12 other leaders and former lawmakers, including former independent legislator Jacob Zhimomi, at an event in Dimapur.3
After the 7 February nomination deadline passed, NDPP leader Neiphiu Rio was declared elected uncontested from Northern Angami-II, with no other candidate in the race.4
- 1NPF Split Produces the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party — Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, Naga People's Front
- 2Election Commission Announces 2018 Nagaland Assembly Poll Schedule — 2018 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
- 3Former CM K.L. Chishi and 12 Others Join BJP in Dimapur — 2018 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
- 4Neiphiu Rio Declared Elected Uncontested From Northern Angami-II — 2018 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election
What changed
Even while finishing first, NPF was clearly losing ground to its new rival.
It went from 38 seats to 26 this time.
13 of its seats moved directly to the NDPP, the single biggest shift of the 43 seats that changed hands.
Even so, NPF has now topped the seat count for 3 elections in a row.
Notable numbers
The tightest fight of the election was at Noklak, Nagaland, decided by 5 votes — the margin, how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second.
Suruhoto, Nagaland saw the widest margin of the election, with the winner finishing 64.8% of the vote ahead of the runner-up.
Tobu, Nagaland recorded the highest turnout of any seat, 95.4%.
NOTA — None of the Above, a ballot option letting voters formally reject every candidate on offer — drew 5,716 votes statewide, 0.6% of the total.
The backdrop
Nagaland's mainstream politics has run alongside a separate insurgency since 1975, when some Naga underground leaders in Shillong accepted the Constitution of India while others later formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland.5
- 5Shillong Accord Signed With Naga Underground Representatives — Shillong Accord of 1975