Kohima, March 20 : The Nagaland People’s Front (NPF), the main constituent of ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN), today allotted party tickets to its candidate for the lone Lok Sabha seat and another four candidates for the byelections to the four Assembly constituencies.

The party tickets were awarded to the candidates at a simple but impressive function at the NPF central office in Kohima. C.M. Chang, a retired bureaucrat, will contest the Lok Sabha seat as a consensus candidate for the DAN, the conglomeration of the NPF, the BJP, the NCP and six Independents. The Janata Dal (United), which supports the ruling alliance, could not open its account in the last general elections.

The candidates for the four Assembly byelections are Azheto Sumi from Dimapur-III, Kejong Chang from Tuensang Sadar-II, Aloh Konyak from Tizit and Deo Nukhu from Chizami constituency.

Byelections to these Assembly seats were announced along with the parliamentary polls because of the resignation of four Congress legislators from the Assembly last month to join the NPF.

Sumi, Chang, Konyak and Nukhu — all Congress MLAs — resigned from the party and joined the NPF and are now contesting the byelections as NPF candidates.

The Congress is also expected to announce the names of its candidates for the byelections within a day or two while for the Lok Sabha seat the party will field former MP Asungba Sangtam.

Congress sources said the central election committee of the AICC would soon announce the names of the candidates for the bypolls.

Sitting MP Wangyuh Konyak, who has been expelled from the NPF for voting in favour of the UPA during the no-confidence motion last year, is also seeking a Congress ticket to contest against Aloh Konyak from Tizit constituency. The MP is from Tehok constituency under Mon district.

The Opposition Congress is facing a hard time to choose the candidates for Tuensang Sadar-II and Dimapur-III.

Allotting the party tickets, chief minister Neiphiu Rio said the DAN would win all the seats. He said the people have full faith on his government’s performances during the past six years.

Shurhozelie Liezietsu, president of the NPF, also urged the people to vote for the party candidates for all-round development. He said the Opposition Congress has been generating maximum propaganda to tarnish the performances of the DAN government without any substantiation.

Liezietsu appealed to the people not to be misled by the Congress’s malicious propaganda. Both the chief minister and the party president said the DAN’s top agenda is to take the Naga peace process forward by playing the role of an active “facilitator” between the Centre and the NSCN.

But the Congress said the DAN alliance has been misusing the state machinery against it and sought the intervention of the poll panel.

It alleged that four of its MLAs were bought for Rs 5 crore each by the NPF.

Former chief minister K.L. Chishi, PCC president K.V. Pusa and CLP leader Chingwang Konyak have charged Rio with engineering the resignation of four of its MLAs from the Assembly last month. The Congress now has 19 members.