Kohima: Ahead of the assembly polls in Nagaland on Feb 27, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opened its account with Kazheto Kinimi re-elected unopposed from the 31 Akuluto assembly seat after his only opponent and Congress candidate Khekashe Sumi withdrew his candidature.

V. Shashank Shekhar, Chief Electoral Officer, Nagaland said that, the Congress candidate of the 31 Akuluto assembly seat N. Khekashe Sumi withdrew his candidature.

Friday (February 10) was the last day of withdrawal of nominations for the assembly elections in Nagaland which will be held on February 27.

“Beyond humbled and honoured to represent the people of Akuluto 31 A/C for a second term, as unopposed. I praise Almighty God for this privilege and extend my gratitude to my supporters, wellwishers, the karyakartas of Akuluto BJP mandal and Nagaland state BJP. This Victory is a confidence of people's faith in the dynamic leadership of our Hon'ble PM @narendramodi,” Kazheto Kinimi tweeted.

On the other hand, 183 candidates are in fray to contest in 59 assembly seats in Nagaland on February 27.

According to the data of the Election Commission, out of 183 candidates, four are women candidates.

The NDPP and BJP had contested the 2018 assembly polls in the state with a 40:20 seat sharing formula and both parties are contesting this time also with the same formula.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)