As Nagaland goes to the polls, a long-time debate has been put to rest. In his affidavit submitted for contesting the Peren seat as a Naga People’s Front candidate, Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang said he had failed in his BA examination in 1979. Kengim Kulimbe, an Independent candidate and Mr. Zeliang’s opponent in Peren, was quick to issue a statement on the Chief Minister’s “true academic status”.
Mr. Kulimbe had often gone to court in his bid to establish Mr. Zeliang’s qualification.
Mr. Zeliang, 65, chose not to react. But the returning officer at Peren, the headquarters of Peren district in Nagaland, said the complaint against the Chief Minister was for the court to decide and not the Election Commission.
Nagaland’s Chief Election Officer Abhijit Sinha said the nominations of 227 out of 257 candidates were found valid. His Meghalaya counterpart Frederick Roy Kharkongor said 374 out of 443 nominations were accepted.
