National Federation Party - Dove faction (Fiji)
Encyclopedia
The Dove Faction was one of the factions of the National Federation Party
(NFP) to contest the September 1977 elections
in Fiji
.
Ever since the death of A. D. Patel and the elevation to the leadership of Sidiq Koya
, there had been dissent within the NFP. There were accucations of Koya stacking the party hierarchy with his supporters. R.D. Patel
(younger brother of A.D. Patel) was the first to speak out against Koya even though Patel had been made the Speaker
of the House of Representatives
after the 1972 elections
. He eventually resigned from the Party and twice (unsuccessfully) contested elections against the NFP as an independent. K.C. Ramrakha was the next one to openly express displeasure at Koya's style of leadership. He resigned his positions within the Party but later withdrew his resignation.
Efforts were made to placate both sides with the splitting of the roles of the Leader of the party and the President. Koya retained the leadership and Irene Jai Narayan
was made the President. This, instead of healing the rift within the Party, made it worse and in 1976 there was open confrontation between the two sides at public meetings. During the debate for amendments to the Agricultural Landlord and Tenants Act (ALTA), Koya and his supporters opposed the amendments, while the Narayan/Ramrakha faction supported it.
After mediation by S.B. Patel and Jai Ram Reddy
, differences between the two sides were patched over for the March 1977 elections
. The split in Fijian vote handed a surprise win to the NFP. While the NFP took four days to select a leader, the Governor General appointed a minority Alliance Government. It was alleged that some NFP members had asked the Governor General not to appoint Koya as the Prime Minister. The split reappeared after the election but this time with Jai Ram Reddy siding with the anti-Koya faction.
The two sides fielded parallel candidates for the September 1977 election with each claiming to be the official NFP. Both sides tried to use the official NFP symbol, a mango tree, for the election but the Supervisor of Elections refused to let any side use this symbol and finally allocated the dove as the symbol for the Koya faction and the flower symbol for the Narayan/Ramrakha/Reddy faction. In the election the Dove Faction only managed to win three seats with Koya himself losing to Reddy.
Prominent members of the Dove faction were Sidiq Koya, Ram Jati Singh
, Ujagar Singh
, Surendra Prasad, Sharda Nand, Vijay Parmanandam, C.A. Shah, Apisai Tora
, C.S. Pillay, and Edmund March.
National Federation Party (Fiji)
The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party...
(NFP) to contest the September 1977 elections
Fiji election of 1977 (September)
Early general elections were held in Fiji between 17 and 24 September 1977, following the impasse of an earlier election that had been held in March...
in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
.
Ever since the death of A. D. Patel and the elevation to the leadership of Sidiq Koya
Sidiq Koya
Siddiq Moidin Koya was a Fijian Indian politician and Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indo-Fijian National Federation Party on the death of the party's founder, A.D. Patel, in October 1969, remaining in this post until 1977...
, there had been dissent within the NFP. There were accucations of Koya stacking the party hierarchy with his supporters. R.D. Patel
R.D. Patel
Raojibhai Dahyabhai Patel was an Indo-Fijian lawyer and politician, who was better known as the younger brother of A.D. Patel. To distinguish between the two, he was generally referred to as R.D. Although he lacked his brother's charisma and oratorical skills, he was much loved and admired by...
(younger brother of A.D. Patel) was the first to speak out against Koya even though Patel had been made the Speaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives (Fiji)
The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Fijian House of Representatives. At its first session following a general election, the House of Representatives elects a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker. With a view to ensuring impartiality, the Speaker is not allowed to be a member of the House, though...
of the House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
after the 1972 elections
Fiji election of 1972
General elections were held in Fiji between 15 and 29 April 1972, the first since independence from the United Kingdom in 1970. They were characterised by the lack of rancour between racial groups, typical of the 1966 general election and the 1968 by-elections.The result was a landslide for the...
. He eventually resigned from the Party and twice (unsuccessfully) contested elections against the NFP as an independent. K.C. Ramrakha was the next one to openly express displeasure at Koya's style of leadership. He resigned his positions within the Party but later withdrew his resignation.
Efforts were made to placate both sides with the splitting of the roles of the Leader of the party and the President. Koya retained the leadership and Irene Jai Narayan
Irene Jai Narayan
Irene Jai Narayan, was an Indian born teacher and politician, who had a significant influence on politics in Fiji. She came to Fiji, in 1959, after marrying Jai Narayan, a well known school Principal in Suva, and began her career as a teacher...
was made the President. This, instead of healing the rift within the Party, made it worse and in 1976 there was open confrontation between the two sides at public meetings. During the debate for amendments to the Agricultural Landlord and Tenants Act (ALTA), Koya and his supporters opposed the amendments, while the Narayan/Ramrakha faction supported it.
After mediation by S.B. Patel and Jai Ram Reddy
Jai Ram Reddy
Jai Ram Reddy is an Indo-Fijian statesman, who has had a distinguished career in both the legislative and judicial branches of the Fijian government...
, differences between the two sides were patched over for the March 1977 elections
Fiji election of 1977 (March)
General elections were held in Fiji between 19 March and 2 April 1977. A split in the ethnic Fijian vote, which saw 25 percent defecting to Fijian Nationalist Party of Sakeasi Butadroka, an extremist organization which advocated the "repatriation" of Indo-Fijians to India, led to the narrow defeat...
. The split in Fijian vote handed a surprise win to the NFP. While the NFP took four days to select a leader, the Governor General appointed a minority Alliance Government. It was alleged that some NFP members had asked the Governor General not to appoint Koya as the Prime Minister. The split reappeared after the election but this time with Jai Ram Reddy siding with the anti-Koya faction.
The two sides fielded parallel candidates for the September 1977 election with each claiming to be the official NFP. Both sides tried to use the official NFP symbol, a mango tree, for the election but the Supervisor of Elections refused to let any side use this symbol and finally allocated the dove as the symbol for the Koya faction and the flower symbol for the Narayan/Ramrakha/Reddy faction. In the election the Dove Faction only managed to win three seats with Koya himself losing to Reddy.
Prominent members of the Dove faction were Sidiq Koya, Ram Jati Singh
Ram Jati Singh
Ram Jati Singh, OBE was a Fiji Indian politician and landlord who was elected to the Legislative Council in the 1966 general elections on the National Federation Party ticket. He was re-elected in the 1968 by-election with an increased majority....
, Ujagar Singh
Ujagar Singh
Ujagar Singh was a Fiji Indian politician who was elected to the Legislative Council in the 1968 by-election from the Nasinu Indian Communal Constituency....
, Surendra Prasad, Sharda Nand, Vijay Parmanandam, C.A. Shah, Apisai Tora
Apisai Tora
Mohammad Apisai Vuniyayawa Tora is a Fijian politician and former soldier and trade unionist. As a labour leader, he was a fighter for dock workers. As a soldier, he served in Malaya and is currently the President of the Ex-Servicemen's League....
, C.S. Pillay, and Edmund March.