By IANS
Kohima : Nagaland was heading for a hung assembly with the Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) having a slight edge to form the next government, according to the elections results and trends available by Saturday night.
The counting of votes took place Saturday for 57 out of 60 seats. Counting in three constituencies will take place Sunday as re-polling was held in some polling booths Saturday.
Out of 52 results declared so far, the NPF won 22 seats and was leading in two more, while the Congress party bagged 21 seats and was leading in one more, according to latest reports available.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won two seats each, while independents bagged five.
In the last assembly, the NPF partnered with the BJP and smaller parties and independents to form the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) government. This time there was no pre-poll alliance between the NPF and the BJP.
Notable winners Saturday included former chief minister Neiphiu Rio.
“It will be a coalition government once again and we are almost sure to form the next government with the support of the BJP and independents, and even the NCP might support us,” a senior NPF leader said while requesting anonymity.
“The remaining three seats where counting would be held Sunday are NPF strongholds,” he claimed.