A boost for the BJP in Christian-majority Mizoram | Popgen Tech

The Bharatiya Janata Party got a boost in the Christian-majority northeastern state of Mizoram on Thursday when the party’s M. Laikaw was sworn in as the new Chief Executive Member (CEM) of Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) in Siaha district in southern Mizoram. . The council constituted for the people of Mara consists of 28 members – 25 of them elected and the rest nominated. The new MADC CEM also appointed 9 Executive Members – 7 from the BJP and two from the three Mizo National Front (MNF) councilors who resigned.

The council elections were held in May this year where the BJP emerged as the largest party by winning 12 seats, one short of the majority. MNF, the ruling party of the state, won nine seats while the Congress won four seats. After many political talks, two archival MNF and Congress joined together to form the government in the council. However, this happened against the will of the state leadership of the grand old party, which was against any kind of alliance with either the MNF or the BJP, and actually wanted to take over from the Opposition.

Unhappy with the MNF-Congress government in MADC, three of the MNF councilors resigned and supported the BJP in overthrowing the government. The three MNF councilors wanted to align with the BJP because the MNF is part of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a BJP-led conglomerate of non-Congress regional parties in the region. But the MNF did not want to ally with the BJP. Not only that, the state cabinet minister, K. Beichhua, an MP from the Siaha assembly constituency, had to resign at the request of Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who was not happy with him for supporting the proposal of three MNF councilors discouraged them.

According to some reports, there are rumors that the resigned minister is likely to join the BJP. Two assembly seats – Siaha and Palak – fall under the MADC. Last time, BJP lost Palak seat to MNF by a margin of 6% while it came third in Siaha seat and got 14% votes. Now that the BJP is in power in MADC, it is likely to be in a good position in the two assembly seats. The state is already going to elections next year. In the last elections of 2018, BJP opened its account in the state for the first time.

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Tripura: Sache School Teacher Gherao CM Manik Saha Residence

A section of school teachers protested outside Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha’s residence on Thursday, demanding a permanent solution to their work-related problems. Notably, a total of 10,323 teachers recruited by the former Left Front government led by Manik Sarkar lost their jobs as a result of a Tripura High Court verdict in 2014, which was later upheld by the Supreme Court.

The HC decision was not for all 10,323 teachers but the authorities during the Left government misinterpreted the verdict and removed all the teachers. It was one of the main issues that generated anger against the Left government, resulting in the end of its 25-year rule.

Then the opposition BJP promised to solve the problem if it came to power. However, it has been almost five years since, but the BJP government has also failed to solve the problem – which is now being used by the opposition parties to attack the BJP. This will be an important issue in the upcoming elections. The agitating teachers have already said they will intensify their movement if their demands are not met.

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Meghalaya: Another setback for the Congress ahead of the elections

The Opposition Congress received another reprieve this week when two of its suspended MPs, Ampareen Lyndogh and Mahendra Ropsang, resigned and joined the National People’s Party (NPP). Chief Minister Conrad Sangma-led NPP was quick to declare Ampareen and Mahendra as candidates from East and West Shillong seats, respectively.

In February this year, the Congress suspended all five of its MLAs to unilaterally support the NPP’s Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, of which the BJP is also a constituent. In the last elections, the grand old party emerged as the single largest party by winning 21 seats in the 60-member Meghalaya assembly. However, NPP along with BJP and other regional parties like United Democratic Party (UDP), Hill State Democratic Party (HSPDP) and People’s Democratic Front (PDF) came together to form MDA.

Later, 12 Congress MLAs led by former CM Mukul Sangma, unhappy with the Congress central leadership, decided to quit the party and join the Trinamool Congress, which immediately became the main Opposition party in the assembly. Elections in the state are less than three months away and Congress is in a state of chaos. Now, it has only three MPs – and all of them are suspended from the party. For how long they stay in the party is something to be seen.

It is a fact that the Congress has failed to keep its flock together. It has also failed to function well as the main opposition party and corner of the NPP-led government, which has faced allegations of corruption. This will definitely have a negative effect on the grand old party in the upcoming elections as their perception is important.

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Keep the pressure alive for Frontier Nagaland

The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO) has reaffirmed its decision to boycott the upcoming Nagaland assembly elections in 2023 if the Center does not meet its demand to separate Frontier Nagaland. Out of 60 assembly constituencies, 20 fall under Eastern Nagaland.

Interestingly, the Center is also very interested in this issue. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has sent a three-member fact-finding team headed by Advisor (Northeast) AK Mishra to the state. The delegation was on a three-day visit and held a series of meetings with CM Neiphiu Rio, senior state government officials, ENPO leaders, tribal hohos and civil society organizations.

Before returning to New Delhi this week, the delegation invited ENPO to New Delhi for another round of meetings. All this is happening when the long-awaited Naga peace accord is yet to see the light of day, even though the state hopes for a peaceful solution to the problem before the next elections.

The author is a political commentator.