Nagaland people's front (NPF)

Nagaland People's Front, popularly called the Naga People's Front or NPF is a regional political party. Its mass base is primarily in the states of Nagaland and Manipur. The NPF operates along the political ideology of Regionalism, abiding by the principles of democracy and fraternity as practised in the state of Nagaland. At the same time, the Naga People's Front ensures the preservation of traditions and culture of the Naga people, which are unique to the ethnic races of the state. In other words, by strictly adhering to the principles of the Indian Constitution, the party strives towards upholding the rights and interests of the Nagas in the state, and stands in unity against all forces trying to divide the Nagas along various social and ethnic divisions.

The name of the party was changed from Nagaland People's Council (NPC) to Nagaland People's Front (NPF) in the Ninth General Convention held at Kohima in October 2002. This historic decision found wide acceptance among the people of the state, as a popular wish of the state was to modify the leadership of the state and make it more inclusive. The NPF is one of the most prominent political outfits in the state to demand a permanent solution to the Indo-Naga political solution. The present President of the party is Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu.

From 2003 to 2008, the Nagaland People's Front ruled the state in alliance with the BJP in the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN), where it is the main constituent of the coalition. The state was ruled under the able leadership of the NPF's most significant leader Neiphiu Rio. In 2004, the NPF absorbed the Nagaland Democratic Party, one of the significant political outfits in the state. This made the NPF all the more influential in the state. Though the NPF supports the BJP-led NDA in the politics of the state, it has no coalition with either the NDA or the Congress-led UPA at the Centre.

Presently, the Nagaland People's Front is in power in the state, having won the Assembly elections in the beginning of 2013, for the third consecutive term. The massive acceptance of the party among the people was evident when for the first time in the last assembly elections, the NPF singularly won a majority of seats, bagging 37 out of the 60 constituency seats in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly. The current Chief Minister of the state is the famous leader Neiphiu Rio. The Congress is the main opposition to the NPF in the state, performing poorly in the last assembly elections. The Nagaland People's Front has one Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha.

Election Symbol of Nagaland People's Front

The Election Symbol of the Nagaland People's Front, as approved by the Election Commission of India, is “Cock”. This election symbol is drawn on a tri-coloured flag of the party, which has a blue top strip, followed by a white middle strip and a red bottom strip, all of which are of equal sizes. The cock is a small Indian bird, which is usually famous for being an early-riser, welcoming the morning sun. The party, representing its ideology through the cock symbol, welcomes light and happiness for the people of Nagaland. Its strong motto, by which the party wholly abides, is “fido non armis”, which means “by faith, not by non-violence”. This indicates the passionate commitment of the party towards the cause of the Nagas, at the expense of not killing or physically abusing the innocent lives of the Nagas.

One of the foremost reasons behind the party's popularity is in its determined non-violent endeavour to bring about social and electoral reforms in the state, and relieve the people of the degeneration that has affected them. Through its administration, the NPF has tried to address the grave concerns of the Nagas, which in turn has restored the spirit of self-reliance and self-confidence in the people. Light is brought in the state by the party, through economic enhancement and efficient administration of the NPF. In other words, the election symbol is representative of the true ideals and objectives of the party, which ensures justice brought into the land of the Nagas. This is light, happiness and peace for the people which is voiced by the NPF.

Leaders of the Party

The leaders of the Nagaland People's Front, who are also the national executives of the party, are listed below:

• Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu, Chairperson of the NPF
  He is the President of the Nagaland People's Front, and has remained a member of the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland in the 2003 and 2008 elections. He represented the Scheduled Tribe-reserved Northern Angami-I constituency. He remained the Minister of Urban Development for both the 2003 and 2008 terms when the NPF was in power, respectively. He is currently the cabinet minister, holding post as Chairman of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) in Nagaland.
• Kru Zakie, General Secretary of NPF
  He has remained the party general secretary for a long period of time. He is also the national spokesperson of the Nagaland People's Front.
• Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister of Nagaland from the NPF
  He is the most popular leader of the NPF. He is the only Chief Minister in the state to have remained in power for three consecutive terms, winning thumping votes in 2003, 2008 and 2013, respectively. Rio has keen passion in music and played an instrumental role in setting up the Music Task Force, the first music industry in the country. He was awarded the Mother Teresa Millennium Award for outstanding contribution to politics.
• C.M. Chang, Leader in Lok Sabha (till February 2013)
  Chang resigned as Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha in 2013, after he was elected as an MLA in the 2013 assembly elections. He represents the Noksen assembly constituency in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly.

Achievements of the NPF

As a regional political party, the Nagaland People's Front has a number of significant achievements. Some of these are listed below:

• The NPF administration most importantly, tries to resolve economic disparities between the different ethnic groups in Nagaland, which is a major reason for tensions and conflicts between them. In this way, the NPF through its schemes has sought to unify the state and its people under one administrative and economic slab.


• The NPF policies have appealed to Naga rebels to stop their factional fights which rip apart the state.
• The NPF government has a prominent achievement of freeing the state of corruption of the ministers, which makes administration in the state peaceful and devoid of dirty politics.
• The NPF has attended to the cause of resolving the Indo-Naga political crisis between the state of Nagaland and the Indian Government, by negotiating peaceful talks with the Indian Government and abiding by its Rule of Law.

Contact Details and Address

• Head-Office Address of NPF - P.R. Hills Junction, Post Box No. 565, Kohima-797001, Nagaland

NPF Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha Election Results Year Wise

Lok Sabha				Vidhan Sabha
State	Latest Year	Seats Won		Latest Year	Seats Won
Manipur	2019	0		2017	4
Nagaland	2019	1		2018	26