Overview

• NPF secretary general Achumbemo Kikon announced on October 14 that the party has officially joined the People’s Democratic Alliance led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
• Both parties have set conventions in Kohima, with the NDPP meeting on October 18 and the NPF on October 21, which NPF leaders say is when a merger could be declared.
• NPF legislator Küzholüzo Nienü told The Hindu the parties expect to announce the merger on October 21, framing the move as imminent but pending formal approval.
• Neiphiu Rio visited veteran leader Shurhozelie Liezietsu and publicly described the meeting as seeking blessings for the political journey ahead, a gesture widely read as symbolic reconciliation.
• Kikon said the NPF’s legislators had been providing outside support to the PDA before formally joining, as the NDPP—formed from an NPF split in 2017—now leads the alliance with 32 seats in the 60-member Assembly alongside the BJP.