As canvassing reaches a quiet crescendo with low-key street campaigns and public meetings in Mizoram, it does so under the watchful eyes of the Presbyterian Church and civil society organisations united under the umbrella Mizoram People’s Forum (MPF) that gets all political parties to sign an agreement every election to follow a code of conduct, perhaps more stringent than even that of the Election Commission.
Five key stakeholders are fighting it out, with a new entrant in the form of the Aam Aadmi Party fielding four candidates. As many as 27 Independent contestants who could play a decisive role when it is time to form the government. While the three major parties—the Congress, the Mizo National Front (MNF) and the Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM)— are slugging it out for all the 40 seats, the BJP this time has decided to contest 23, com- pared to the 39 it did at the last hustings in 2018.
Founded in 1961, the MNF, with a tiger-head as its emblem on a sky-blue flag, and a five-pointed star as its election symbol, is led by Chief Minister Zoramthanga. A part of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance in the Northeast and an ally of the NDA at the Centre, the simmering tension between the two is unmistakable. It does not help that the MNF is also contesting the anti-incumbency factor.
The MNF has said its support to the NDA is “issue- based” and has been portraying the BJP as an opponent, calling it a “saffron party”. It has alleged the BJP has refrained from criticising the ZPM and raised concerns about a purported post-poll “understanding”. At a press conference on Tuesday, the chief minister exuded confidence his party will retain power by winning at least 21 of the 40 Assembly seats.
Asserting that the Centre will not scrap Article 371 of the Constitution, he said it is “not required” and that its removal will lead to “adverse Reactions”.
In a move that has won the hearts of the local populace and is also supported by all political parties, the CM is batting for unity for all ethnic Mizos—the Mizos of Mizoram, Kukis of Manipur, and Chins of Myanmar and Bangladesh. He has come out in support of the Kuki-Zo people in the ongoing strife in Manipur and has also ignored the Centre’s directive to collect biometric data of refugees from neighbouring Myanmar.
It is estimated that over 40,000 people from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur have taken shelter in this second least populated state. The MNF poll manifesto promises, among other things, the unification of Zos under a “higher authority” in accordance with the United Nations’ 2007 Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People.
