New Delhi, Feb. 28: Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland Khekiho Zhimomi may not be able to twirl his moustache today although his equally moustachioed Lok Sabha colleague C.M. Chang may well do it.

Khekiho suffered one of the many upsets in the Nagaland elections but is one of the few Naga People’s Front (NPF) candidates to fall.

Chang, who contested from Noksen, has won by over a thousand votes, considered a good margin in the contest for the delimited constituencies. His exit from the Lok Sabha will necessitate a byelection.

Both the MPs from the regional ruling party were dissatisfied with their assignments as MPs. They would rather return home to the Legislative Assembly.

Khekiho’s defeat will not be easily forgotten either by him or his boss and in-law, chief minister Neiphiu Rio. He lost to Independent candidate and clansman, Jacob L. Zhimomi.

It was said to be a battle of the bulge in Dimapur as both candidates boast of money and muscle-power.

“Anything can happen, you know,” said Khekiho over phone.

The MP, who has a village named after him near Dimapur, will have to return to Delhi. Neither he nor Chang have attended the budget session of Parliament so far.

The lesson from Khekiho’s defeat is singular: No matter how influential you are, someone more powerful can dislodge you.

Naga politicians prefer an Assembly seat to the pride of being an MP or even a governor.

So, even the legendary S.C. Jamir, former chief minister of Nagaland and governor of Maharashtra and Goa, contested Assembly elections in 2008 only to lose.

Jamir did not contest this time and perhaps the Congress’s defeat may now force him into retirement.

One of the reasons for returning to the hills is little power in the corridors of Parliament. Nagaland has only one Lok Sabha seat while other states, with the exception of Assam, have at most two seats.

“I chose to contest (the Assembly election) because I wanted to be involved in the day-to-day working for the people. In Delhi, it is raising issues about people but not really working at the grassroots,” said Khekiho. Chang will have that opportunity for the next five years.

Another former MP who represented Nagaland in the Rajya Sabha, T.R. Zeliang, had returned home in 2008 to enter the Assembly from Peren seat on an NPF ticket.

Chief minister Neiphiu Rio is also relieved, as younger brother Zhaleo Rio has won Ghaspani-II seat.

Rio could not have afforded a loss for Zhaleo in his first contest, as it could have been a loss of face for him too.