G Kaito Aye has been winning from the Satakha (ST) Assembly constituency since 1998
The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have again entered into a seat-sharing agreement for the 2023 Nagaland Assembly election. The NDPP-BJP alliance came to power in Nagaland after the 2018 Assembly polls with support from the Janata Dal (United) and an independent. This time, the NDPP is contesting 40 seats while its ally is eyeing the remaining 20 seats in the northeastern state. Since the NDPP won 17 of the 40 seats it contested in the last election, the party has welcomed several MLAs from other parties that has strengthened its numbers in the Assembly. State agriculture and cooperation minister G Kaito Aye is among the NDPP's most prominent faces for the Assembly election. Here are five points about him.
- G Kaito Aye has been winning from the Satakha (ST) Assembly constituency since 1998. He contested on a Congress ticket in 1998 and 2003. G Kaito Aye retained the seat in 2008 and 2013 as a Naga People's Front (NPF) candidate. He was fielded by the JD(U) in 2018 and again emerged victorious from his bastion.
- G Kaito Aye is currently serving as the minister for agriculture and cooperation in the Neiphiu Rio-led government. He was made the minister of industries and commerce in the NPF government in 2013. The senior leader has also held the national highway and political affairs and the roads and bridges portfolios.
- In 2015, G Kaito Aye was among the NPF legislators who demanded a change in leadership months after TR Zeliang took charge as the Nagaland Chief Minister. He led the rebel MLAs and was later sacked by the party along with other dissidents.
- In 2017, G Kaito Aye was among the 10 MLAs suspended by then-Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu. The move came following demands for the removal of the chief minister.
- The 70-year-old politician quit the NPF to join JD(U) in February 2018 just days before the Assembly election. He switched over to the ruling NDPP in 2019. He is contesting from the Satakha constituency in the 2023 Assembly election.
Voting for the 60 seats in the Nagaland Assembly will be held on February 27. The results will be announced on March 2 along with Tripura and Meghalaya.