Mizoram : Battle lines drawn for CADC polls

REPORTED BY ISAAC ZORAMSANGA

Battle lines have already been drawn for the election to the 20-member Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) in southern Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district as the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), the Congress , ZPM and the BJP have announced the names of their candidates for the coming polls.

Mizoram state election commission scheduled the election to the CADC to be held on May 9 and counting of votes would be undertaken on March 11.

MNF, Congress and BJP would be contesting all the 20 seats and have announced the names of their official candidates while the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) has decided to contest 9 seats and also has announced the party candidates on Saturday.

The ZPM, formed in 2017 by merging the then Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) and the People’s Conference (PC) and other small pressure groups by Zoram Exodus Movement (ZEM), bagged 8 seats in the election to the 40-member state assembly polls in 2018.

It was the first ever election faced by the ZPM and did better than the Congress which had ruled the state for 23 years as the Congress managed to secure only 5 seats.

However, the ZPM is yet to open an account in the CADC elections as it is the first time the party would contest the council polls in the CADC.

The CADC is now placed under the Governor’s rule since December 16, 2022 as‘there could not be political stability’ despite the fact that all the 20 members ofdistrict council (MDCs) belonged to the Mizo National Front (MNF) due to a large number of elected MDCs vying constantly for the post of the Chief Executive Member (CEM).

Instability in the CADC government had begun a few months after the elections to the 20-member CADC held in April, 2018, witnessed a hung council and the BJP, which won 5 seats decided to form the government with the Congress party (its arch rival at the centre) which bagged 7 seats, rather than its NDA ally the MNF having 8 MDCs.

The post-poll alliance was forged despite strong disapproval from both Delhi and Aizawl.

Five governments in the CADC had been toppled since Shanti Jiban Chakma of the BJP was sworn-in as CEM on May 4, 2018 after being elected leader of the United Legislature Party (ULP), formed by the BJP and the Congress.

Though former CEM Rasik Mohan Chakma, who had been CEM for two times during this term staked his claim to be the sixth CEM after the resignation of B.L. Chakma, the state Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati refused to accept the claim and imposed Governor’s rule.

Some political analysts predicted that this time around, the main contest is most likely between the MNF and the BJP as the saffron party has made in roads among the minority communities.

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