Nagaland will vote for a new government on February 27. The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had joined hands and formed the government in the northeastern state in 2018. The two parties will be again contesting the election together this year. The BJP has fielded candidates for 20 seats while the NDPP is contesting 40 of the 60 Nagaland Assembly seats. The votes for the 2023 Nagaland election will be counted on March 2 along with Meghalaya and Tripura. Among the NDPP candidates is four-time Chief Minister and former MP Neiphiu Rio. Below are five points about him.
- Neiphiu Rio has been the Chief Minister of Nagaland four times – 2003-2008, 2008-2013, 2013-2014, and 2018-2023. He is the first politician in the state to serve three consecutive terms as chief minister.
- Neiphiu Rio was first elected to the Nagaland Assembly in 1989 when he contested on a Congress ticket from the Northern Angami-II constituency. He retained the seat in 1993 and was appointed as minister for housing. In November 2002, he resigned from the Congress party over differences with then Chief Minister SC Jamir.
- He later joined the Naga People's Front and won the 2003 Assembly election to become the Chief Minister for the first time. He could not complete his term as President's Rule was imposed in Nagaland on January 3, 2008.
- Neiphiu Rio quit NPF to join NDPP, which was founded in 2017, ahead of the 2018 Nagaland Assembly election. Ha was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2014 general election. He resigned as an MP in 2018 after winning the Assembly election.
- The Chief Minister belongs to the Angami Naga tribe and has five daughters and one son with his wife Kaisa Rio. He attended the St. Joseph's College in Darjeeling and graduated from Kohima Arts College.
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