The emergence of Zoram’s People Movement (ZPM) in Mizoram politics is poised to transform the dynamics of the 2019 Assembly elections. Currently, the Mizo National Front (MNF), led by Chief Minister Zoramthanga, and the Congress have long been the dominant players in the state’s political landscape. However, the ZPM’s growing influence is now reshaping this traditional electoral battleground.
In the past, Mizoram has seen the presence of smaller parties like the Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) and Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP). Still, none of them have posed a significant challenge to the dominance of the two major parties until the recent rise of the ZPM.
Since India’s independence, elections in Mizoram have always been between two parties. In the early 1950s district council elections, Mizoram’s first political organizations, the Mizo Union (founded in 1946) and the United Mizo Freedom Organisation (founded in 1947), engaged in a fierce battle. This struggle persisted as Mizoram transitioned into a Union Territory in 1972, evolving into a contest between the Congress and the Mizoram Union after the two parties merged. Professor Jangkhongam Doungel, a political science professor at Mizoram University, asserts that this conflict between political forces endured even after Mizoram gained statehood, primarily involving the Congress and the Mizo National Front.
In 1987, the MNF took office for the first time when Mizoram achieved statehood. However, it couldn’t complete a full term, leading to a Congress administration in 1989. Since then, Mizoram has alternated between the two major parties, with each enjoying two terms in power. In the 2018 elections, the MNF secured a decisive victory over the Congress.
According to Prof. Doungel, “Since the last Assembly election when the ZPM captured eight seats, it has gained ground by winning some of the local municipal elections. It (ZPM) has now emerged as the main Opposition party, leaving behind the Congress.” In the 2018 elections, the nominees of the ZPM ran as Independents.
The ZPM, under the leadership of Lalduhoma, aims to disrupt Mizoram’s two-party system, much like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did in Delhi’s 2013 elections.
Formed in 2017 ahead of the 2018 elections, the ZPM resulted from the merger of two established political parties (ZMP and MPC) and six other groups, including civil society organizations.
Vanlalthlana, a college lecturer and the ZPM’s MLA for Aizawl North, highlights that most of the party’s members and election candidates have origins in civil society.
“There are professors and retired bureaucrats and even one popular singer, who are in the mix. The traditional way of electoral politics is changing in Mizoram with the increased penetration of the internet. Especially since the pandemic, when we were all locked in and the internet started playing a more important role in our lives. The people of Mizoram began to see how much other states in the country are progressing compared to us,” according to Vanlalthlana.
According to him, Mizoram ranks last in terms of road infrastructure among all states, as per a survey conducted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Another such survey discovered that Mizoram ranks second-to-last in education. For 35 years, the MNF and Congress have been in power. Although the MNF did its best, a change is necessary for the state to advance.
The MNF’s plank and the ZPM’s agenda are fundamentally unlike. While the MNF discusses development, its primary electoral focus lies in Mizo nationalism and the concept of “Zo-unification,” which seeks to unite all Zo tribes.This perspective has gained more support due to the Zoramthanga government’s aid and protection to refugees from Myanmar and internally displaced individuals from Manipur.
According to Vanlalthlana, the “Mizo issue” of “Zo-brotherhood” is significant to all political parties in the state.
There will be no change in posture or policy regarding refugees or Manipur, regardless of the government that takes office. We do know that the ZPM is gaining rapid support among Mizoram’s youth, who are becoming the largest voting bloc. There’s an expectation of increased youth voter turnout in the elections as electoral apathy among young people is also diminishing, he added.
The ZPM has announced 15 out of its 39 candidates who are under 50 years old. This highlights the party’s focus on the younger generation in its selection of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections at the end of this year.
Observers point out that the MNF and Congress have historically had vote shares between 20 and 30 per cent. “A large section of the Mizo voters are neutral voters with no party allegiance. This is the voter that the ZPM will try to reach,’’ according to an analyst.
According to Doungel, the ZPM has so far reduced the number of votes in Congress but not the MNF. “While the ZPM may have captured the imagination of many in Aizawl, the MNF remains strong in the rural areas. The only way that the ZPM can replace the incumbent is if it makes inroads into the rural belt,” he continued.
