GUWAHATI: After the assembly election, speculation is rife in the state that a solution to the decades-old Naga problem is just three to four months away. However, there are doubts whether political parties would keep their promise of making way for an alternative arrangement, including a new dispensation led by rebel groups, by stepping down."It was just a political rhetoric...I don't think any party would step down after winning an election democratically. Let the Accord be announced first and see what it has to offer," said a senior political leader. When there was a strong demand for solution before the election, the Centre is learnt to have conveyed to various groups of the state that re-election would be one of the options to accommodate rebel groups after the peace deal is finalized.The present circumstances remind us of a similar situation in 1998 when then chief minister SC Jamir had made a similar commitment of stepping down to pave the way for an alternative arrangement once the final solution happens. One of the strongest theories doing the rounds is that the Centre might adopt an arrangement somewhat similar to the one signed with the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) in 2002 when the militants laid down arms, disbanded the outfit and floated the Bodo People's Front (BPF). The BPF administered the Bodoland Territorial Council on ad hoc basis for three years before contesting election in 2005. Since then, BPF led by Hagrama Mohilary has been winning every election to the autonomous council."The Bodoland autonomous council is a different issue...it was created as part of the Accord. But here we already have an administrative setup, which is the state. And who will from NSCN(IM) take over the government assuming that the present government steps down?" the leader said.

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