The Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO), advocating for a separate administration or state comprising six districts of Nagaland, remained steadfast in its decision not to participate in the elections to the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland until the Centre met its demand.
Following an extensive closed-door coordination meeting with 20 MLAs and various other organisations in Tuensang on Thursday, ENPO leaders again announced their intention to boycott the state parliamentary elections scheduled for April 19.
The Eastern Nagaland Legislators' Union, consisting of 20 MLAs, had previously urged the ENPO to reconsider its stance.
The 'public emergency,' initiated on March 8 in the eastern part of Nagaland, will persist.
During this "public emergency," ENPO, the apex body of seven Naga tribes in the region, along with its affiliated organisations, is not permitting election campaigning.
Last year, in support of its demand for a separate state, ENPO, the primary Naga body in the six districts, issued a call to boycott the Assembly polls held on February 27 but later retracted it following assurances from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
In response to ENPO's demand, the Union Home Ministry established a three-member committee, chaired by Adviser, Northeast, AK Mishra, to examine their request. The panel visited Nagaland and engaged in discussions with all stakeholders.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio recently stated that the state government has already recommended to the Centre the establishment of an autonomous region for the people of the eastern region.
