The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) suffered a setback in central Mizoram in April. The extremist outfit-turned-political party, which won 26 of the 40 Assembly seats in 2018, lost all 11 seats in the Lunglei Municipal Council to the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM).
The ZPM had given the MNF a scare in 2021 by penetrating areas in Chief Minister Zoramthanga’s Assembly seat – Aizawl East-1 – although it bagged six of the 19 Aizawl Municipal Corporation seats. Mr. Zoramthanga, a former extremist hardened by guerilla warfare, is also the president of the MNF.
The Lunglei loss, eight months ahead of the Assembly polls later this year, was an indication for the MNF and Mr. Zoramthanga, battling a fiscal crisis and charges of nepotism, that the 2023 polls may not be a cakewalk.
