Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio campaigned for ally NPF in Manipur.
As far as election campaigns go, there was more than one quirk as Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio took the spotlight on Wednesday to ask for votes in neighbouring Manipur.
The party he was campaigning for was an outfit he left in 2017 to start his own. The main issue he raised - the Naga peace accords and the withdrawal of controversial military act AFSPA - is arguably the prerogative of his ally BJP. And the party he was attacking for the law-and-order situation in Manipur's Naga-dominated areas was the state's opposition Congress for its Okram Ibobi Singh regime.
As Manipur prepared to vote on February 28 and March 5, on the line was Naga unity, Mr Rio said, canvassing for ally Naga People's Front (NPF) in the Senapati district of the state.
"Nagas are not only in Nagaland, Nagas are in Manipur, Arunachal and Assam, the privilege and protection after peace talks will be extended to all the Nagas in India," Mr Rio, who was once with the NPF and now leads his own party the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP).
Ally BJP - which governs at the centre and leads Manipur's ruling coalition - was also missing from his crosshairs as he reiterated his call against the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act or (AFSPA) which gives sweeping powers to the military over regions deemed sensitive, including much of the northeast.
Going solo this time, the Nagaland-based NPF, currently part of the BJP-led government in Manipur, is contesting 10 seats.
"Be it the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), be it NPF, we are aligned to the BJP. We have come to show our solidarity with NPF candidates. This election means a lot to the regional parties. I believe that we can be good neighbours with Manipur. It is a process of nation-building," he said.
"This is the election of Naga unity. Today, the Naga society is divided, we have so many groups, societies, so many cadres, illegal taxation, extortion and this cannot be sustained, we need to make a loud and clear voice that we want peace and settlement. The Naga peace talks have been on for 25 years. It's complex. Some competencies have been accepted. This process has to be resolved," Mr Rio added in his public address.
"During Okram Ibobi Singh's regime, he was antagonistic to Nagas. Law and order were dismal in the Naga areas. The general Naga public wants peace, settlements, and opportunity. We need to get a settlement done now, collectively. When settlement comes, it will need to create opportunities," he said.
Mr Rio also raised December 4 incident at Oting in Nagaland where 14 civilians and one security personnel were killed in an encounter gone awry, triggering massive anger and demands for the Withdrawal of AFSPA.
"The state government has been pressing upon the centre to repeal AFSPA. The cabinet took a decision and the assembly passed a resolution for repeal of AFSPA. We want AFSPA to be removed barring international border area and state border areas where there are problems," he said.
"But if insurgency continue in some areas, if the state government cannot contain them, then it can be reintroduced again. So, till the Naga issue is resolved, this AFSPA may remain. It may go and come back again. A mandate for NPF will be a mandate towards the evolution of the Naga issue," Mr Rio added.