Nagaland’s urban local body (ULB) elections were held on June 26, 2024, after a 20-year hiatus. This election marks the first time the polls in the state were conducted with 33 percent reservation for women.
Nagaland has three municipal councils – Dimapur, Kohima, and Mokokchung – and 36 town councils. In Kohima, six of the 19 wards, in Dimapur, eight of the 23 wards, and in Mokokchung, six of the 18 wards were reserved for women. A total of 64 candidates were elected uncontested in various municipal and town councils, out of total 523 candidates, including 325 males and 198 females were in the contest.
The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) had the most candidates (45) winning unopposed, followed by its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with seven, the Nationalist Congress Party with five, Congress with three, and the Naga People’s Front and independents with two each.
Civic polls were conducted in 10 of the 16 districts in the state. The six eastern districts did not participate due to the influence of the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), which is advocating for the creation of a Frontier Nagaland Territory, a self-rule zone. Despite a few candidates filing their nominations in these districts, they later withdrew to show solidarity with the ENPO’s demands. The ENPO and people across the six districts stayed away from the Lok Sabha election on April 19 for the same reason.
Nagaland enacted its Municipal Act in 2001, and the first ULB elections under the Act were conducted without the 33% reservation for women. A notification for the next ULB polls was issued in 2012, but they were not held due to objections from tribal bodies, which opposed the quota and certain clauses in the Municipal Act.
In 2017, the state government attempted to hold polls with 33% reservation for women, but this led to violent protests, claiming two lives and resulting in significant damage to government properties across the state. Powerful tribal organizations argued that the reservation for women infringed on Naga customary laws protected by Article 371(A) of the Constitution. The violent backlash forced then Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang to resign, and the state government declared the poll process null and void. Later, Women's organizations subsequently moved to the High Court and then the Supreme Court regarding the matter.
In September of the same year, the Assembly passed a resolution to exempt the state from the Constitution’s Article 243T, which deals with the quota for women. However, this resolution was revoked in 2016.
The 60-member State Assembly passed the Nagaland Municipal Act of 2023 on November 9 last year, amending the Municipal Act to facilitate the elections. Following this, the Supreme Court directed the state government to complete the electoral process for the ULBs by April 2024.
The 60-member State Assembly passed the Nagaland Municipal Act of 2023 on November 9 last year and paved the way for the elections by making certain amendments to the Municipal Act, following which the Supreme Court directed the State government to complete the electoral process for the ULBs by April.
This ULB poll has been described as “historic” following the election of the first woman to the Rajya Sabha from Nagaland in 2022 and the election of two women as MLAs in the Assembly in 2023.