New MNF government in Mizoram may assume office on Saturday

Aizawl, Dec. 11 (IANS): The new Mizo National Front (MNF) government is likely to assume office on Saturday, party president and Chief Minister-designate Zoramthanga said here on Tuesday night.
“I have discussed this evening with Governor Kummanam Rajasekhar about holding the swearing-in ceremony of the new Council of Ministers on December 15. The Governor after talking with all the stakeholders will decide about the time and date of the oath-taking ceremony on Wednesday,” the MNF supremo told the media.
Earlier in the evening, after handing down a crushing defeat to the ruling Congress, MNF head Zoramthanga met the Governor at the Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form the government, after a decade.

A statement of the MNF said that Zoramthanga has been unanimously elected leader of the MNF Legislature Party. A former Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, 74, was elected for a fifth term from Aizawl East-I seat, defeating Independent candidate K. Sapdanga by a margin of 2,504 votes.
The MNF, which got only five seats in the 2013 Assembly polls, secured 26 seats this time, while the ruling Congress won only five against 34 seats last time.
The MNF, a constituent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), governed Mizoram for 10 years — 1998-2003 and 2003-2008.

MNF’s founder and former militant leader Laldenga had headed two brief MNF-led governments in 1986-1987 and 1987-1988 before the President’s rule was imposed in the state on October 8, 1988.
However, both MNF and BJP contested polls separately in Mizoram. The MNF had put up 40 candidates and BJP 39, its highest ever. The veteran tribal leader, Zoramthanga was earlier the Chief Minister of the Christian-dominated northeastern state for 10 years (1998-2003 and 2003-2008).

Mizoram CM resigns after humiliating defeat
Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on Tuesday evening submitted his resignation to Governor Kummanam Rajasekhar after the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of opposition Mizo National Front (MNF), an official said.
Thanhawla submitted his resignation to the Governor, who asked him to continue in office until the alternative arrangement are made, a Raj Bhavan official said.

Thanhawla, who earlier successfully contested the Assembly elections a record nine times, this time lost in both constituencies — Champai South and Serchhip — from where contested.
In Champai South, he was defeated by MNF’s T.J. Lalnuntluanga by 1,049 votes, while in Serchhip he was defeated by an Independent (Zoram People’s Movement-ZPM) candidate Lalduhoma by 410 votes.

Thanhawla, 80, who was the Congress Chief Minister for 10 consecutive years, had won the Serchhip seat last time by 734 votes.
The octogenarian tribal leader, who was also the Congress party chief in Mizoram, held the Office of the Chief Minister for the fifth time in the Christian-dominated northeastern state.

MNF win good for regional forces, AGP must divorce BJP — Mahanta
Former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said on Tuesday that the Mizo National Front’s (MNF) electoral victory in Mizoram was good for regional forces and said he wanted his party AGP to divorce the BJP. Mahanta, who led the six-year long Assam Movement between 1979 and 1985, congratulated MNF chief Zoramthanga over his party’s victory and said that only a regional political party can meet the aspirations of the people.

The MNF has secured 26 seats in the 40-member House, restricting the ruling Congress to mere five seats.
“The MNF has succeeded against the joint attempt of the BJP and the Congress to stop the party from coming to power. It is a positive sign. The MNF has showed the path,” said Mahanta.

“In Assam also, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has been able to gain people’s faith over the years,” he said. Asked about the AGP’s alliance with the BJP, Mahanta said: “I have suggested to the AGP leadership to come out of the alliance.”
The gulf between the AGP and BJP is widening over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016. While the BJP favours it, the AGP has expressed its reservation over the bill which according to it is detrimental to the rights of the indigenous people of Assam.