Mizoram election results 2018: MNF won due to negative voting against govt, says ZPM leader Lalduhoma

The election result trends in Mizoram on Tuesday show a clear mandate to overthrow the Congress, said Lalduhoma, the chief ministerial candidate of the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), an umbrella group of political outfits that came together to contest the polls.

The Mizo National Front (MNF) is set to return to power, having won or leading in 25 seats, according to latest trends. Lalduhoma said that his alliance, which was winning or leading in eight seats in the 40-member assembly, was likely to overtake the Congress as the Opposition in the new assembly. He won the elections from two seats, trouncing Congress’s chief minister Lal Thanhawla in his home turf Serchhip and also winning the Aizawl West I seat.

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“Those who wanted real change voted for the ZPM, while those who just wanted to over throw the government, have voted for the MNF,” said the former IPS officer who has been a part of both the MNF and the Congress before he founded the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP). He also founded the Mizo National Union, which merged with the Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC).

“MNF has won because of the negative votes. The electorate in Mizoram has behaved like it would in other parts of the country,” he said. “MNF claims to have won on an agenda, but is just anti-incumbency,” he said.

The ZPM, whose 39 candidates contested as independents, consists of Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP), Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC), Zoram Exodus Movement, Zoram Decentralisation Front, Zoram Reformation Front, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Mizoram People’s Party. In the previous polls, the MPC won one in one constituency. In 2008, the MPC and ZNP won two seats each.

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“People have given us a mandate for playing the role of the Opposition. We will do it responsibly,” Lalduhoma said.

In the Opposition, Lalduhoma said, the party, among other issues will put pressure to bring back prohibition. “We stand for complete prohibition,” he said.

He said the outfit will also demand National Register of Citizens. “We will also demand that the government brings in a National Register of Citizens to detect foreigners. There are many foreigners in Mizoram. No other part of the country tolerates foreigners. Why should we in Mizoram?” he said. Majority Mizos claim that Chakma community-dominated areas in South Mizoram have a large number of illegal immigrants.

The ZPM leader also added that he will be registering the outfit as a new party soon.

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But will his MLAs join the MNF or other outfits before that happens? “No, they are reliable people,” he said.