Kohima: The Rising People’s Party is dissolving. The organization will merge with the Neiphiu Rio-led Naga People’s Front in Kohima on July 11. Discussions regarding this shift began in June.
The party once promised to fix a deep rot in the system. They failed. Despite a platform centered on transparency and ridding politics of money and muscle power, the leadership felt the public lacked enthusiasm for their ideology. One senior member explained why the group surrendered their independence. “There are people who understand the ideology but don’t want to come forward. They feel that it is too ideological,” he said.
The group struggled to gain traction with voters accustomed to traditional political corruption. Joel Naga, a former anti-corruption activist, founded the party with hopes of a new social order. He famously stated, “We have a dream, we have a vision for the Naga people. We want to bring in real change. It is not rhetoric, it is an ideal which we have prepared to sacrifice for.”
Joel Naga ran for office in the 2023 Assembly polls but lost. Members decided joining the larger party was the only way to stay in the fight. The experiment in political reform is now over.
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