Former Nagaland chief minister Hokishe Sema was on Monday unanimously elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party, which made its maiden entry in state politics by clinching seven seats in the just-concluded election, party sources said.
At a meeting held at Dimapur, Sema was elected in the presence of BJP vice-president Pyarelal Khandelwal and party in-charge of Northeast V Satish and other state BJP leaders.
The party legislators will then proceed to Kohima to attend a combined meeting of the constituents of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland, which emerged as largest political entity bagging 29 seats in the 60-member house.
The meeting is being convened to elect the leader of the alliance, which will stake claim soon to form the next government with support of four independents.
Sema, who joined state politics since the formation of the state in the sixties, became the third chief minister of Nagaland in 1969 and completed the full term.
He spearhead the Congress debut in Nagaland, the first national party in the state, in the late seventies, but severed connection with it due to his differences with chief minister S C Jamir in 1994.
He then formed the Nationalist Democratic Movement. He joined the BJP in 1999 and became the party's national executive member.
During Sema's tenure as chief minister, a large number of Naga underground members laid down arms to form a complete Border Security Force battalion. He was able to provide a stable regime from 1969 to 1974.
He became chief minister for the second time in 1986 for a brief period and again in 1987 after the sixth assembly elections in Nagaland.
During 1986 to 1993, Nagaland witnessed an unstable period with frequent imposition of President's rule.
Sema was also appointed governor of Himachal Pradesh in April 1983, but resigned from the gubernatorial post in March 1986 to get elected to the Rajya Sabha in the same year.
A civil servant in Assam government in mid-fifties, Sema was inducted as a member of the drafting committee of Naga People's Convention, which signed the 16-point agreement in 1960 with the Centre.
This culminated in the formation of the state of Nagaland after a decade-long turmoil in the erstwhile Naga Hills district of Assam.