Wokha: Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, on Friday revealed his willingness to campaign for the Naga People’s Front (NPF) candidate contesting the Outer Manipur parliamentary seat.
During the NDPP’s campaign for its candidate in Wokha, Rio expressed his eagerness to support their alliance partner in the neighboring state if invited.
Rio made the statement as he referred to a personal interaction with NPF legislature party leader and MLA Kuzholuzo Nienu who had suggested the chief minister to campaign for the BJP alliance partner in Manipur.
In Manipur, the NPF/NDA candidate Kachui Timothy Zimik kicked off his political campaign on Thursday.
While the NPF candidate is supported by the BJP in Manipur, the regional party also pledged its support for Th Basanta Kumar, the BJP candidate for the Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency.
Rio, a founding member of the NPF party in Nagaland, revealed that he also played a role in the party’s launch in Manipur.
Following an unsuccessful bid as an Independent candidate in the 1987 state election, Rio secured a seat in the Nagaland State Assembly as a Congress minister in 1989, 1993, and 1998. He resigned from the Nagaland Legislative Assembly in 2002, contributing to the formation of the NPF party and the initiation of the then Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN).
In 2003, he clinched victory in the election with the NPF party ticket and assumed the position of chief minister of the state.
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He was subsequently re-elected in 2008 and 2013. In May 2014, Rio stepped down from his role as chief minister to contest the lone Lok Sabha seat with the NPF party ticket, successfully winning the seat.
He later resigned from the parliamentary seat in February 2018. Rio departed from the NPF party and secured victory from the 11-Northern Angami-II Assembly constituency uncontested with the NDPP party ticket in the 2018 state elections. In the 2023 state election, he was re-elected, marking his fifth term as chief minister.
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