Shadow of BJP chases ruling Congress in Mizoram

AIZAWL: The BJP hardly has any base in poll-bound Mizoram but the shadow of the party is chasing the ruling Congress.

The Congress and the state’s principal opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) are the two key players in this Christian-majority state. However, the attack of the ruling party has been invariably on the BJP whose presence is scarcely felt.

The BJP, which never won a seat in Mizoram elections, may end up winning just two to three seats in areas of the ethnic minorities such as the Brus (Reangs) and the Chakmas who are a mix of Hindus
and Christians.

The Congress is jittery about the BJP, primarily because of its political engineering which helped the saffron party grab power in states like Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

“We have no doubt the BJP has a tacit understanding with some regional parties including the MNF. The BJP wants to rise to power in Mizoram through the backdoor,” Congress spokesman Maliana told reporters in Aizawl on Monday.

BJP leader and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma countered the Congress leader saying, “We will have it through the front door”.

Asked if the BJP is optimistic only about the four-five seats in Bru-Chakma majority areas, he told TNIE, “No. We will surprise everyone by winning Mizo seats too. We have friends in the Congress and the MNF. If there is any shortfall (post-election), we have enough friends in both the parties”.

Maliana also said that the BJP would try to have its presence in the government through its allies in the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), of which Sarma is the convenor. He said the National People’s Party (NPP), an ally on the BJP in NEDA, was in the poll fray to not win any seats but to help the BJP.

“Himanta Biswa Sarma and Ram Madhav are schemers. They look innocent but they are dangerous. The BJP espouses one culture, one language and one religion. The people of Mizoram won’t accept this,” Maliana said.

He said the BJP’s Mizoram unit president JV Hluna should resign for taking up the causes of the saffron party and telling lies. 

However, Hluna said, “The BJP is a secular party and there is no question of suppressing the religious rights of any community”.

The Congress’s worries surrounding Sarma and Madhav are obvious as the duo had secured power for the BJP in one state after the other through smart scheming.

The Congress indicated that the BJP was helping the MNF and some smaller regional entities in whatever way it could to keep the grand old party out of power. The BJP knows for sure that it is not going to win many seats or be in a position to form the government. All that it wants is a non-Congress and regional parties-led government where it will have its presence, even if it is with one or two MLAs. 

Mizoram, the last Congress-ruled state in the Northeast, will go to election on November 28.