Dimapur, January 31: The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has issued a set of guidelines for the forthcoming assembly elections in the state stressing ‘clean elections’ and ‘reform in governance.’
The Baptist Church has put thousands of its volunteers on the job to carry out its "clean elections" campaign across the state for the Feb. 23 poll.
The NBCC has issued two sets of guidelines- one for politicians and other for the electorate.
It has asked the politicians to refrain from splurging during elections and to shun "corrupt practices".
It wants the electorate to exercise their franchise on the basis of their "constitutional rights" in a "democratic spirit" with "Christian values".
"Abstain from indulging in election feasts, substance abuse, sexual immorality and other forms of corrupt practices which are not in tune with Christian principles," asked the guidelines.
Baptist Church manages some 1,600 parishes and is an influential body in the Christian majority state, where its appeals are taken seriously.
"It will be more of a spiritual war. We have no agenda and are supporting none. Our sole motto is to tell the truth, stand up for the truth and bring about a positive change," the guideline said.
Hukashe Zhimoni, director of NBCC's development wing- the Nagaland Development Outreach (NDO), said the Church people are going to reach out to politicians and rebel groups across the state in a week's time.
Although the "clean election" campaign was kicked off in 2011, it gained momentum only recently in view of the forthcoming elections.
Zhimoni said they would also use social networking sites to spread their message and that pledge cards would be distributed.
The NDO has also requested pastors from across the state to be present at polling booths and offer prayers before the commencement of voting.
"Their presence makes a lot of difference. In the past, the presence of a pastor at a polling booth at Chakesang discouraged malpractices. The pastor stayed there all through the voting period," said Zhimoni.
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