The Congress has ignored the diktat of a conglomerate of majoritarian organisations to name two ethnic minority Chakma nominees among its 40 candidates for the Mizoram Assembly polls slated for November 28.
The two candidates – Amit Kumar Chakma from Tuichawng Assembly seat and incumbent Nihar Kanti Chakma from West Tuipui – were named along with two others on Wednesday. The Congress had published its first list of 36 candidates a fortnight ago. Tuichawng and West Tuipui are in the Chakma Autonomous District Council.
The NGO Coordination Committee, comprising all civil society organisations of the majority Mizo community, had last year asked all political parties not to field any Chakma candidate in the Assembly elections. The Mizos consider the Chakmas “outsiders”.
Two regional parties — Zoram Nationalist Party and Mizoram People’s Conference — agreed to abide by the committee’s diktat. The Mizo National Front, Mizoram’s main opposition party, said it would field a Chakma candidate only if the Congress violated the code. The MNF, accordingly, named 39 candidates. It fielded a non-Chakma, Robert Hminthangsanga, from the Chakma-dominated West Tuipui and left the Tuichawng seat vacant. It is now expected to name a candidate with the Congress having fielded two Chakma candidates. The MNF probable for Tuichawng is Rakesh Mohan Chakma.
A Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson said it would have been futile not to field Chakma candidates since representatives of the community are destined to win the two Assembly seats falling within CADC. “Whether we like it or not, no one can stop them from being given tickets by any party,” Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had said some time ago.
The BJP, which has named 13 candidates so far, is also likely to “defy” the NGO’s diktat. The seats left out include the ones in the Chakma domain.
Buddha Dhan Chakma, who resigned as a Minister in the Congress government after four Chakma students were denied admission to a medical college last year, is expected to be one of the BJP’s main candidates. He quit the Congress a few days ago.
