Though Arunachal Pradesh went to polls in the first phase for both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, allegations of violence, booth capturing and other corrupt practices have ensured another round of re-polls after the re-polls were affected by the same practices. The tenor has reached such a pitch that the 2019 elections have been dubbed as the ‘darkest’ in the state’s history. Evidently, the state has become a battleground of sorts, though votes are not the only weapons in the mix.
Members of various Naga armed political groups have been accused of interfering in the election process. On March 30, two party workers of the National People’s Party (NPP) were abducted by alleged Naga underground cadres in Tirap district. They were beaten mercilessly and one of them succumbed to his injuries and died. The other is recovering but has sustained injuries to kidneys. James Sangma, Meghalaya’s Home Minister and the brother of NPP president, Conrad Sangma, has contributed towards the treatment. Reports indicate that the underground cadres involved in the assault belong to those factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland that are currently in talks with the Government of India. Considering that similar reports have come from Manipur, one may not be wrong in presuming that the groups have a stake in a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) victory.