The people of Mizoram once again rejected the overtures of the BJP, giving their Lok Sabha candidate less than one percent of the votes polled!
After a big win at the 2018 Assembly (MLA) elections, the ruling party Mizo National Front (MNF) continued its success route in the small hill state of Mizoram by securing the lone Lok Sabha seat as well as the MLA by-election seat of Aizawl West I constituency.
The total vote count in Mizoram including EVM, postal ballot and ETPBS of the main contending candidates were: C Lalrosanga (MNF) 2,24,053 and Lalnghinglova Hmar (IND) 2,15, 658 respectively. The candidate Nirupam Chakma, who garnered a pitiable 27,989 votes overall said he was ‘not concerned with the state politics as he was sure of a BJP win in the national election’.
While six candidates were in the fray for the Lok Sabha seat, a close contest was seen between MNF candidate C Lalrosanga and ZPM-Congress alliance representative Lalnghinglova Hmar who contested as an Independent candidate.
Voting patterns were seen to vastly differ among the various districts, with the largest difference being seen in Tuichawng Constituency of Lawngtlai district which is a Chakma dominated area.
Here, the MNF candidate C Lalrosanga garnered 12,022 votes and the Independent candidate Lalnghinglova Hmar collected a bare 386 votes resulting in a difference of 11,636 in the constituency while the overall difference between the total votes were 8395.
Both candidates have media connections, with C Lalrosanga being the formal director general of Doordarshan and the Lalnghinglova being the joint editor of the biggest Mizo daily, Vanglaini.
The winning candidate said he believes he has won because of three reasons firstly, God, secondly, the good reputation and works of his party, MNF, and thirdly the support of his voters.
Lalrosanga said he will concentrate on road and air connectivity as well as other developmental aspects. In regards to the youth, the newly elected MP said he will look towards establishing training institutes and work on skill development in different fields including art and culture, music, acting and developing personal skills with the assistance of Central Government schemes.
He said he will stand strong on his stance to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill if there is an attempt to reintroduce the bill in the Parliament.
The BJP celebrates despite defeat
The dismal performance at the hustings did nothing to dampen the BJP unit’s enthusiasm, and they were in a party mood, celebrating Narendra Modi’s second term as Prime Minister.
While the MNF party was celebrating its victory in the party headquarters, at the same time the BJP Mizoram chapter was also holding its own celebration for the party’s massive nationwide success.
The Mizo National Front celebration was held amidst the singing of gospel songs and prayers. In the BJP chapter, the BJP president JV Hluna held a celebration and puja for the re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the local media. The BJP unit president believes the party’s strong force of development is the main reason it has come back stronger and bigger. J V Hluna put a new spin on the Hindutva view of the BJP party, he reportedly said that BJP is a secular party and India is a Hindu dominated country, so it is natural that central government should be run by Hindu political leaders.
BJP with less than 1% mandate parties in Mizoram added by NEWSNET DESK on
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Very interesting. This sort of analysis is not readily available on TV. How some Northeastern states are keeping their integrity and not allowing outside forces to dominate. It was amusing to read about the BJP party, though. Of course, in Mizoram everybody needs an excuse to have a party, so we should not grudge the BJP wallahs their share of happiness.