In politics, change of leadership on most occassions is not a smooth affair, more so, when the leadership concerned is that of the Chief Minister.
Pressurised by civil society groups who have imposed state-wide bandh for the last two weeks, the ruling Naga Peoples Front (NPF) MLAs are now looking for options to replace Chief Minister TR Zeliang.
In the last few weeks, some names of politicians have propped up for the top job – namely former minister Azo Neinu, current minister Tokheho Yepthomi and most recently NPF president Dr. Shürhozelie.
As per reports, Dr. Shürhozelie has the support of 42 MLAs. Only problem is that Dr. Shürhozelie has said recently that he is not eager to occupy the CM’s chair. Moreover, if Dr. Shürhozelie does become the CM, he will need to be elected as MLA within 6 months.
With age catching up, Dr. Shürhozelie will have to take the tough call on whether or not to join electoral politics again. He voluntarily did not contest in the 2013 State elections.
As for sitting Chief Minister TR Zeliang, he seems to be in no mood to transfer power. The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has rubbished reports that MLAs has asked Zeliang to step down.
The civil society organizations has asked the MLAs to withdraw support to TR Zeliang by 17th Feb. Time is ticking for the NPF to find a suitable replacement.