Will win 25-30 seats, support to NDA issue-based: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga ahead of polls

By Ujjwal Roy
Aizawl (Mizoram) [India], October 15 : Talking up his party's prospects in the November 7 Assembly elections, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Sunday said the ruling Mizo National Front party will win 25 to 30 seats in the 40-member House.
In a free-wheeling interview with ANI on Sunday, the Mizoram CM said, "We are hopeful of our success and I believe that out of the 40 seats, my party is poised to get between 25-30, which will give us a majority in the House. We are quietly confident that we will able to form the government again."
The chief minister said apart from meeting the development needs of the people, the issues arising out of the influx of refugees from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur would be the key planks on which the ensuing polls would be fought.
"We need to form the government to carry forward the development work that we have started. The influx of refugees from Myanmar, the situation in Manipur and the refugees crossing over into our territory from Bangladesh are issues that the elections would be contested on," the chief minister said.
"A good number of refugees have come to Mizoram from Bangladesh. As far as Myanmar is concerned, the military junta is currently holding the reins of power there. We gave them (refugees from Myanmar) shelter as they are our brothers and sisters," he added.
On the rival contenders he faces in the battle for chief ministership, Zoramthanga said the Congress may get one or two seats or may not win any seat at all.
However, he added, that his challenger, the Zoram People's Movement, may win about 10 seats.
"The Congress may win one to two seats or none at all. The biggest challenger is the ZPM (Zoram People's Movement). However, I doubt if they will win 10 seats or more. They might even win less than 10 seats," he added.
However, the CM added that there was no close contest between the MNF and the ZPM, as his was an "organised party", which has been in vogue for six decades as opposed to the ZPM which was founded fairly recently.
"There is no contest between the MNF and the ZPM. We are a party that has been in existence for 60 years. The ZPM, on the other hand, was founded only recently. It is a conglomeration of different groups and would struggle to find the right candidates to contest the polls," Zoramthanga said.
Speaking on Rahul Gandhi's scheduled visit to Mizoram, the MNF chief said, "It may be a good thing for his party but it will not have much impact on the people of Mizoram ahead of the elections."
The Mizoram CM said though they are with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), their support to the ruling coalition at the Centre was only "issue-based".
"We support the NDA on selective issues as there are many issues on which we may not be on the same page. For instance, we may not be at one with them on the Manipur or other cultural or emotive issues. When we feel that their (Centre's) policies or actions are in the interest of Mizo people, we support them," Zoramthanga said.
"Though we are in the NDA, I am not a founding member of the ruling coalition. On certain issues in Mizoram, they fight us more than the Congress," he said on frequent run-ins between his party and the BJP's state unit in Mizoram.
On the border dispute with neighbouring Assam, Zoramthanga said, "Since many states in the Northeast were carved out of Assam, we do have some discord with regard to our borders. However, our effort is to solve all issues peacefully."
Urging the people to repose their electoral trust in his party once again, the MNF chief said his government would carry forward the projects that have already started if voted back.
"Mizoram needs a stable government. The MNF, which was established in 1961, is more than 62 years old. It is one of the oldest, most regimented parties in India. Even though this is the era of Covid, we believe that we have done very well. We hope that the Mizo people will certainly vote for us. A fresh mandate will enable us to finish the work that we have started," Zoramthanga said.
The CM added that his government was focused on building the state's economy around agro-forestry.
"We have to bring about more development in the areas of agriculture, forest, land, education and industry. We have a lot of bamboo, agricultural and horticultural products. We have to ramp up the production, transportation, processing and marketing of these materials. The economy needs to be agro-forest based," he said.
Zoramthanga said the liquor ban in the state will continue if his party is voted back.
"All the churches in Mizoram, all the political parties, all NGOs and my party are against the free sale of liquor here. So the ban will continue. Though there is an issue of black marketing, it is not as big a problem as the open sale of liquor," he said.
On the issue of drug trafficking, the Mizoram CM said that the problem will not be resolved unless peace returns in neighbouring Myanmar.
"In Myanmar, the military junta calls the shots and there is no meaningful government. The borders are porous, so people can cross over in the cover of darkness. Myanmar needs to find lasting peace with India's help. Only then can smuggling be checked," he said.