GUWAHATI
The BJP on October 18 announced the names of 21 candidates for the November 7 elections to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly.
The list, released in two installments, names three leaders who quit the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), including former Assembly Speaker Lalrinliana Sailo, over the past few months.
The other two are former Minister K. Beichhua and former MNF advisor T. Lalenthanga.
They are contesting from the Mamit, Saiha, and West Tuipui constituencies respectively.
The BJP has fielded four women, twice as many as the MNF and its regional challenger, the Zoram People’s Movement. They are R. Lalbiaktluangi, contesting from Lunglei West, Judy Zohmingliani (Tuivawl seat), F. Lalremsangi (Aizawl South-I), and K. Vanlalruati (Serchhip).
Ms. Lalremsangi is the spokesperson of the BJP’s State unit.
The BJP, a friend of the MNF because of their common enemy, the Congress party, had contested 39 of the 40 seats in the Christian-majority Mizoram in 2018. The party could manage to win only one seat — Tuichawng, dominated by the Buddhist Chakma people.
State BJP leaders, however, chose to focus on the positives; the party’s vote share in the elections five years ago was 8.09%, which was almost eight times more than the 0.37% garnered in the 2013 election. Thirty-three of the 39 BJP candidates forfeited their deposits in 2018, an improvement over the fate of all its 17 candidates in 2013.
