Mizoram ruling party ZPM to launch campaign on April 1

Mizoram ruling party Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) will launch a campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on April 1, a party leader said. Polling for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the northeastern state will be held on April 19 and over 8.6 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the upcoming polls. ZPM general secretary in charge of general administration department, Saithuama Mangpa said that the campaign kick off ceremony will be held at Vanapa Hall in Aizawl. Chief minister Lalduhoma will address the ceremony and other party leaders, including the party president Lalliansawta will also attend the event, he said. Congress will also launch its campaign on Thursday, while main opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) and BJP has already launched their electioneerings, party leaders said. The upcoming elections to the lone Lok Sabha seat in the northeastern state is set to  witness a multi-cornered contest.

However, political analysts believed that it will be mainly a triangular contest amongZPM, MNF and Congress.The Congress and the MNF had earlier tried to forge a pre-poll electoral alliance. However, the two parties decided to go on their own after the parleys did not bear fruit. ZPM has fielded political debutant Richard Vanlalhmangaiha, 46, while the MNF named sitting Mizoram’s lone Rajya Sabha member K. Vanlalvena,54 as its candidate. Congress has nominated retired Mizoram Police Service (MPS) officer and former state home secretary Lalbiakzama (64) and People’s Conference (PC) fielded well-known Mizo singer and lyricist Rita Malsawmi (48). Both are also newbies in politics.

Former Congress worker and ex-BJP leader Lalhriatrenga Chhangte, who lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, will also contest the upcoming polls as an independent. In the annal of Mizoram electoral history since 1972 when the state began to have separate Lok Sabha seats, most parliamentary polls were won by the ruling party in the state. So far, the Congress had won six Lok Sabha polls on its own, while the MNF came out victorious on two occasions (2004 and 2019) on its own.

The ZPM, which was formed in 2017, is contesting the Lok Sabha polls for the first time on its own this time although it had jointly contested with Congress in 2019. In the last Lok Sabha polls held in 2019, the MNF secured a vote share of 44.89 per cent, ZPM-Congress combine- 43.26 per cent, BJP-5.75 per cent, People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM)- 2.67 per cent and the other 2.94 per cent by two independent candidates.