Security forces guard the hotel in Kohima on Tuesday. Picture by Narain B. Sagar

Kohima, March 11: Several hundred youths supporting Neiphiu Rio today tried to storm a Kohima hotel in which Congress legislators and militants were rumoured to be coercing Independent legislators not to support the Nagaland People’s Front.

Security personnel prevented the mob from entering the hotel but the capital town teetered on the edge, the tension accentuated by the NPF-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland’s growing impatience at not receiving an invitation from the governor to form the next government.

Unable to barge into the hotel, Rio’s youth army marched to Raj Bhavan and shouted slogans accusing the governor of using “delaying tactics” to let the Congress muster support through “unfair means”.

Sources in Raj Bhavan, however, said K. Sankaranarayanan was only waiting for word from Delhi to lift President’s rule and invite Rio for a second consecutive term. His last term as the head of a DAN government ended two months before its term with Delhi clamping President’s rule.

Rio called on the governor on Sunday to say that he had the “committed and unconditional” support of 34 members, including five of the six Independents and two legislators each of the Nationalist Congress Party and the BJP. The NPF is the largest single party with 26 legislators.

Today, Independent legislator Kipili Sangtam, who was till last night known to be in the Congress camp, told the media in front of Rio’s private residence that he had committed his support to the DAN. A couple of hours later, speculation was rife about some Independent legislators being threatened by armed militants of the newest Naga faction — a group that calls itself NSCN (Unification) — at the Congress’s behest.

“We saw NSCN (Unification) members moving about with the Congress MLAs,” a youth said.

The Congress refuted the allegation, saying it was neither in the race to form the next government nor hobnobbing with any militant group. “We are not staking claim to form the government,” AICC secretary Siddharth Patil said after emerging from a meeting with the 23-member Congress Legislature Party.

I. Imkong, the party’s choice for the chief ministership in the run-up to the elections, was re-elected the legislature party leader.

Apart from Patil, two AICC members — Margaret Alva and Ranji Thomas — are staying in the hotel that Rio’s supporters tried to storm.

Rio and Lok Sabha member Wangyuh Konyak told the media in the evening that the governor assured them that they would be called to form the government by tomorrow.

One election result is pending because of failed attempts to conduct polling afresh in a booth under Suruhoto constituency. Chief electoral officer C.J. Ponraj said repoll would be held there tomorrow.