Senior bureaucrat Y Kikheto Sema raised serious concerns over the escalating cost of elections in Nagaland, terming it one of the most expensive electoral systems in the country.

Addressing the Ahuna Festival 2025 as the special guest, Y Kikheto Sema, IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government of Nagaland pointed out that an average of Rs 20 crore is reportedly spent in each Assembly constituency within Sümi-dominated areas, amounting to nearly Rs 440 crore across these constituencies. He termed this trend “alarming and unsustainable,” warning that such practices threaten to distort democratic values and burden society.

He further observed that Nagaland comprises 378 villages, 30 area students’ unions, and 12 ranges, besides numerous Sümi organizations outside the state. Sustaining these

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