Mizoram polls: Four star campaigners from Nagaland

October 23, 2023 44 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 23

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making an extensive effort to attract voters in predominantly Christian-dominated Mizoram, by including four individuals from similarly characterised Nagaland in its list of 40-star campaigners for the upcoming Mizoram Assembly elections.

These campaigners include Deputy Chief Minister Yangthungo Patton, Tourism and Higher Education Minister Temjen Imna Along, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Phangnon Konyak, and BJP National Spokesperson and Mizoram State In-charge Mmhonlumo Kikon.

Of these, Patton has already begun campaigning for various party candidates in the past few days.

On October 20, while sharing an interview on X, formerly Twitter, Kikon posted, “There will definitely be another non-Congress, NDA government in Mizoram again!”

Meanwhile, the list also includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief JP Nadda, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and several other political figures from across the country. Rijiju was recently appointed as the Party’s Election In-charge for Mizoram.

According to news reports, Prime Minister Modi is likely to visit Mizoram’s Mamit town on October 30 to campaign for BJP candidates in the state.

Both Mizoram and Nagaland have a similar percentage of Christians in their total population, which may be a reason behind fielding four individuals from Nagaland, apart from geographical affinity.

According to the 2011 Census, the Christian population in Mizoram was 87.16% of the total state population of 10.97 lakh, while in Nagaland, there were 17.40 lakh Christians, representing 87.93% of the total population of 19.79 lakhs.

Despite the BJP’s success in other North-East states, the party has yet to secure a significant presence in Mizoram, with only one member in the current assembly.

However, the party has nominated candidates in 23 seats for the upcoming assembly scheduled on November 7.

According to the Chief Electoral Officer of Mizoram, a total of 174 candidates, including 16 women, have filed their nominations when the deadline ends on October 20.

The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), the opposition Congress, and Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) have fielded candidates in all 40 seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting in four constituencies.

A total of 27 Independent candidates are also in the fray.

Apart from the BJP, the AAP and Congress have also enlisted prominent figures for their campaign parties.

According to the list submitted to the Election Commission of India, Congress’ 40-star campaigners include President Mallikarjun Kharge, AIPC President and MP Shashi Tharoor. Former President and MP Rahul Gandhi has already campaigned in the state.

The AAP has submitted a list of 30-star campaigners, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Maan.

The ruling MNF and ZPM have respectively submitted lists of 39 and 19 star campaigners for the upcoming elections.

The 40-member Mizoram Legislative Assembly will go for polls on November 7 and the counting of votes is fixed on December 3.