Kohima, March 4: Nagaland will go to the polls tomorrow under President’s rule for the fourth time in its turbulent history and the Congress hopes to be third time lucky.

Two of the Congress’s last three stints in power came about after elections were held under President’s rule in 1989 and 1993.

On the only other occasion when polls were held under central rule in Nagaland, the United Democratic Front — the original avatar of the Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) — benefited from a wave of opposition to the declaration of Emergency in 1977.

The Congress and the NPF’s campaigns this time were built around President’s rule, one trying to convince voters that it was “blessing in disguise” for Nagaland and the other calling it a symbol of “Delhi’s hegemony”.

“People are reaping the benefits of President’s rule. The power scenario has improved and road repairs have been undertaken. The last two months have been a blessing in disguise for the people of Nagaland,” AICC secretary Ranji Thomas said.

As in the past, all parties contesting the elections came up with manifestos promising a solution to a problem that has dogged Nagaland for over six decades. Each vowed to do its best to facilitate the integration of all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas of the region.

But considering the limited role the state government has had in the militant Naga leadership’s talks with Delhi, very few believed any party in power would be able to make a difference. “These are not new issues. In every election, political parties raise such emotional issues despite knowing that they cannot do much,” said sociologist Shilu Ao, who is researching Nagaland’s political system.

The state has a tradition of electing almost the same set of legislators in election after election. Only the parties against these names change.

Before the last round of elections, several ministers in the erstwhile S.C. Jamir-led Congress government crossed over to the NPF and won. Rio was one of them. This time, some ministers in the Rio-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland government have switched to the Congress.

Since there has been no indication of a clear mandate for either the Congress or the NPF, the formation of the next government will most likely depend on the performance of parties like the BJP, which is contesting 23 seats. The Rashtriya Janata Dal has 25 candidates and the Nationalist Congress Party has fielded eight. There are as many as 33 Independents in the fray. Overall, the list of nominations has 218 names, 58 of them declaring assets worth more than Rs 1 crore in their affidavits to the Election Commission.

For the first time in decades, there will be polls in this state without the domineering presence of three stalwarts — Hokishe Sema, Vizol and S.C. Jamir. The first two have died — Vizol passed away only yesterday — and Jamir is the Goa governor.

The run-up to the elections has also been one of the most violent. Six persons died and several more were injured in clashes in the past couple of weeks. Over 50 vehicles belonging to political parties were damaged.

Each of the 1,780 polling stations in the state will have two-tier security, the inner ring comprising paramilitary forces and the police forming the outer one. An additional 168 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in the 60 constituencies.