Quiet and uneventful, bound by centuries-old traditions, Longwa, a village in Nagaland, has a unique problem. The international boundary of India and Myanmar cuts right through it, and the people of the village do not really know which country they actually belong to.

In every Assembly election, the entire population of the village, including those living in Myanmar, cast their votes.

Since 1964, when the first Assembly elections were held in Nagaland, residents of Longwa have been casting their votes. The situation is no different this time.

Election officials in Kohima said that they did not have records to ascertain who were “genuine Indian citizens” and those who were not. They admitted that the state election department and the Election Commission had so far not done a count of “Indian citizens” among the Longwa population.

“Let them vote, they are all Nagas,” an official said.

Going by the electoral rolls, there are 4,469 voters and six polling stations on the Indian side of the border. The polling booths are at the local primary school, which has 677 registered voters, Pangyen Morung (631), Pangyu Morung (814), Chingling Morung (1,015), Ching Morung (917) and Tisha Morung (415).

The village is a part of 44 Phomching constituency. Four candidates — Pohwang (BJP), Kongam (Congress), Wangpai (NPF) and Leiyang (LJP) — are contesting the seat.

Being one of the largest villages of the constituency, Longwa is expected to make the difference between victory and defeat for these candidates in the March 5 elections.

Chief electoral officer C.J. Ponraj admitted that neither the Election Commission nor the government had ever verified the antecedents of the voters in Longwa, located close to a Myanmarese army camp.

Nagas of Myanmar are known to cast proxy votes elsewhere along the international border, too.

Intelligence reports say that three Pochury Naga villages lie on the Myanmar side of the border, and that people from these areas enter Nagaland to vote.