Mizoram: Congress names two Ethnic Minority Chakma Nominees

Aizwal: The diktat of a conglomerate of majoritarian organisations in Mizoram to name two ethnic minority Chakma nominees among its 40 candidates for the ensuing Assembly polls in the state on November 28, is being ignored by the Congress.

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 (CDAC).

It may be mentioned, that the State’s NGO Coordination Committee, comprising all civil society organisations of the majority Mizo community, had last year asked all political parties in the state not to field any Chakma candidate in the Assembly elections. The Mizos consider the Chakmas “outsiders”.

The Committee’s diktat was agreed upon by two regional parties of the state Zoram Nationalist Party and Mizoram People’s Conference respectively. Mizoram’s main opposition party, The Mizo National Front (MNF), said it would field a Chakma candidate only if the Congress violated the code. Accordingly, the MNF has named 39 candidates. It fielded a non-Chakma, Robert Hminthangsanga, from the Chakma-dominated West Tuipui and left the Tuichawng seat vacant. With the Congress having fielded two Chakma candidates, MNF is now expected to name a candidate. Rakesh Mohan Chakma is the party’s front-runner for the Tuichawng seat.

On the other hand, a spokesperson from the Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee said not fielding Chakma candidates would have been a futile effort since representatives of the community are destined to win the two Assembly seats falling within CADC. Expressing his views, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said, “Whether we like it or not, no one can stop them from being given tickets by any party”.

The BJP, which so far, has named 13 candidates, is also likely to “defy” the diktat by the NGO. The seats left out include the ones in the Chakma domain.

Former Congress leader and Minister, Buddha Dhan Chakma, who resigned a few days ago as a Minister in the in the Lal Thanhawla led Congress government after four Chakma students were denied admission to a medical college from the state Quota for the Ckama tribal students, is expected to be one of the BJP’s main candidates. Many Congress

Noteworthy that Mizoram shares an unfenced 510-km border with Myanmar and a 318-km border with Bangladesh. The state also shares borders with three other Northeastern states of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura respectively. The Chakma tribal communities are living on both sides of the borders.