GUWAHATI: Former Speaker of the Mizoram Assembly, Lalrinliana Sailo, officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a ceremony attended by Deputy Chief Minister of Nagaland, Y Patton. Sailo’s move came shortly after his resignation as the Speaker earlier in the week.
In the previous election, Sailo secured the Chalfilh seat as a candidate for the Mizo National Front (MNF), defeating F Rualhleia from the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) and H T Hrangchal from the Congress in a competitive three-cornered contest.
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Another notable defection to the BJP is K. Beichhua, who had previously resigned as a minister in CM Zoramthanga’s ministry last December and was subsequently expelled from the MNF for ‘anti-party activities.’ Beichhua resigned as a legislator on October 6, and on the same day, he officially joined the BJP. He is now preparing to contest from his Siaha constituency.
The MNF faced a significant setback in October, with multiple leaders resigning from the primary membership in the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC). Among the resignations were four members of the district council (MDC), including Parimal Chakma, Hiranand Tongchangya, Ajoy Kumar Chakma, and Sanjeev Chakma.
In addition, 39 MNF members and 16 female members relinquished their primary membership of MNF from the Chakma Autonomous District Council. In their resignation letter to the MNF President, they pointed out several shortcomings and expressed their frustration with the limited ability of public leaders to address various development issues for the people of the Chakma Autonomous Council.
BJP National Spokesperson and Mizoram BJP in charge, Mmhonlumo Kikon, noted that many leaders had switched allegiance to the BJP, attracted by the party’s ideology. “MNF has stated that few have left the party as they were not given tickets. But already, they had expressed their willingness to join the BJP, and as such they weren’t given a ticket,” Kikon told The New Indian. He further emphasised the BJP’s confidence and said preparations for the upcoming elections were in full swing.
Sources indicate that the BJP will hold a high-level meeting on October 15, with prominent figures such as BJP Mizoram election in-charge, Kiren Rijiju, and BJP Northeast Convenor, Samit Patra, participating. Following this meeting, the BJP is expected to announce its list of candidates.
In response to the recent party switches, the MNF has characterised the departures as a minor setback. Vice President of the MNF, Pu Vanlalzawma, explained that the departures occurred because some leaders were not allocated MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) posts this year.
Speaking with The New Indian, Vanlalzawma said, “Some of the leaders have already left the MNF party because they did not get MLA posts this year and leaders from the Chakma autonomous council have already left and we are aware of it. It’s not a new thing for us. Not only in Mizoram but we can see anywhere in India when politicians don’t get tickets, they tend to join other parties, it happens in Indian politics.
“There may be a minor setback but not at all serious. We are still very confident about the upcoming elections. We already knew that some leaders would be leaving the Mizo National Front after the list of candidates was announced.”
The relationship between the MNF and the BJP is intriguing, as the MNF is a partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, the MNF backed a no-confidence motion introduced by the opposition against the government due to ethnic violence in Manipur on August 11. The MNF is also a constituent of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) in the region.