Bharatiya Janata Party Unit of Tripura to Woo Chakma, Bru Voters

Guwahati: Tripura unit of BJP has been entrusted with the responsibility of wooing Chakma and Bru voters in five Assembly constituencies of Mizoram, dominated by people belonging to the two ethnic communities by the Party, a senior party leader said.

The Assembly constituencies Identified by the party in Mizoram are West Tuipui, Mamit, Tuichawng, Hachhek and Thorang, BJP's Tripura unit, Vice-president Pratima Bhowmick, said on Friday.

The 40-member Mizoram Assembly to go for polls on November 28.

"We have been given the responsibility of the overall campaign in the five constituencies where the maximum voters are from Chakma and Bru communities. We are hopeful of winning all the five seats," Bhowmick told PTI.

Tripura’ BJP’s top leaders including Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Social Welfare Minister Santana Chakma, state BJP vice-president Pratima Bhowmick and MLAs Sambhu Lal Chakma and Promod Reang have all began their campaign in Mizoram for the ensuing Assembly elections on Tuesday.

A poll rally at Kamalanagar, the headquarter of the Chakma Autonomous District Council was addressed by Biplab Kumar Deb, Santana Chakma, and Sambhu Lal Chakma. Special responsibility has been entrusted to Tripura chief minister for poll campaign in Mizoram Bhowmick said.

Bhowmik who was very hopeful of good results for the party in the ensuing elections in Mizoram said, "We conducted the first round of campaign at Kamalanagar and other constituencies and received an overwhelming response from voters there. People of the Chakma community gathered in large numbers at the helipad to receive us.

We found Santana Chakma and our chief minister to be very popular among the people." An elated Bhowmik said.

Bhowmick, along with MLA Dilip Das who on Friday left for refugee camps in North Tripura district, where at least 35,000 Bru inmates are sheltered, said, 96 per cent of the population in the Chakma district council area in Mizoram are from the Chakma community. About 50 per cent of voters in Mamit are from the Bru community and 5 per cent from the Chakma community.

Bhowmik further said, In Hachhek constituency, the Brus constitute 68 per cent of the total voters, in Thorang constituency Chakmas constitute 30 per cent and Brus represent 27 per cent and in West Tuipui, the Chakmas constitute 80 per cent of the voters. Ninety-eight per cent of the voters in Tuichawng seat belong to the Chakma community.

BJP spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty said chief ministers of many northeastern states including Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will campaign for the Mizoram Assembly elections

BJP Election campaign in Mizoram was kicked off by the Party’s National President Amit Shah in Aizwal on October 17^.