Dimapur, April 8 -- Nagaland deputy chief minister Y Patton on Sunday expressed regret over his utterances of poorly chosen words at an election rally.

"There has been some controversy and concern over a statement I made recently during an election campaign, and I want to take this opportunity to clarify and address those," Patton said in a statement.

He said it was absolutely not his intent, saying he deeply values the right of each and every electorate to make their voice heard.

"My role and intent is to empower and enable that process, not to circumvent it," he added.

In a video of the campaign rally, Patton was seen suggesting the village chairman, Gaon Buras and voting agents let the villagers go to the fields and cast votes on b...