It바카라s hard to find visible signs of an impending election in Mizoram. A rare poster pops up on a moss-covered cliff-face around a corner. A chair stands at the entrance of an empty campaign office, set amid cheek-by-jowl shops. At the headquarters of the Mizo National Front (MNF), a young party worker watches highlights of a Premier League football match on his smartphone. Mizoram will vote on November 28 to elect a new government, but its picture-postcard hilltop capital Aizawl seems disinterested in the democratic process. This is a laidback city basking under the mellow November sun, watching the world go by. In front of a big graffiti of the state election department urging people to vote, young men and women sit on a row of parked motorbikes and discuss football, cinema and everything else but elections.
The real 바카라action바카라 was happening on the street in front of the state assembly, where thousands of people바카라men and women, young and old바카라were chanting and singing in a mass demonstration against the state바카라s chief electoral officer S.B. Shashank. For two days, the protests continued as rival political parties came together for what was described as a matter of Mizo pride. The Election Commission finally decided to replace Shashank, who had angered Mizos by allowing Bru tribals to vote at their camps in Tripura. An estimated 30,000 Brus are living in six camps in Tripura since they fled Mizoram following ethnic clashes in the 1990s. Mizo organisations say the Brus have refused to return despite signing a repatriation agreement with the Mizoram government.
Among the protesters was one carrying a placard: 바카라Don바카라t take Mizos for granted.바카라 바카라Peaceful elections since 1972,바카라 reads another, underlining the year Mizoram became a Union territory.
The young discusses everything but polls in Aizawl
These summed up elections in Mizoram. Even when insurgency raged in Mizoram바카라ending in 1986 and leading to the formation of the state바카라elections have been an uneventful and orderly affair. And the Mizos take pride in the manner they go about the exercise.
The secret to Mizoram바카라s quaint election process lies in the small first-floor office of the Mizoram People바카라s Forum (MPF), where R. Lalbiakmawia is scanning the day바카라s newspapers바카라all in Mizo language바카라for election-related news. The church-led MPF is the overarching group that guides the election process in the state바카라its diktats are binding and followed to the last stop by all political parties. The MPF was formed in 2006 by the Presbyterian Church, the largest Christian denomination in the state. 바카라All political parties must sign an agreement with us for the elections. This document is a set of dos and don바카라ts which we expect everyone to follow to ensure a clean election,바카라 says Lalbiakmawia, a pastor who heads the MPC.
The agreement mainly reiterates the EC바카라s model code of conduct but also lays down a few points on morality and ethics, including certain norms for fielding candidates바카라바카라without any record of infidelity바카라, 바카라person of great human value바카라 and 바카라religious, a prominent member of his religion, renowned and faithful바카라.
About 87 per cent of Mizoram바카라s 1.12-million people are devout Christians and the church plays a crucial role in society and polity. Lalbiakmawia justifies the moral policing in politics. 바카라You cannot separate religion from politics. The aim of both is to create a better society. We just try to clean up elections and politics. We also work with the EC to educate the people,바카라 he says.
The lack of visible election activities has to do with the MPC guidelines that categorically bar loudspeakers, public entertainers and processions after election dates are announced. Even when Union leaders visit the state, flags and banners are allowed only at the rally venues. 바카라And each campaign meeting is moderated by an MPC official. It allows us to ensure that candidates and other leaders don바카라t make provocative statements,바카라 says a leader of the Young Mizo Association, one of the biggest organisations in the MPC. The youth group is also active on the day of voting, making seating arrangements et al, especially for the elderly outside polling booths. 바카라We don바카라t take sides. The people decide which party or candidate they want. We just try to ensure that the elections are free and fair in the true sense,바카라 the leader says.
Educating women voters is mostly done by the Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl, the state바카라s largest women organisation and part of the MPF. Local TV channels arrange face-offs between contesting candidates who are asked questions by a select audience.
A Close Race
Despite the rules and regulations, political parties still have to enter the ring and fight the battle. And reach out to the voters with their plans and programmes. The ruling Congress led by chief minister Lal Thanhawla is battling large-scale desertions of senior leaders, including former speaker Hphei who joined the BJP and home minister Lalzirliana who switched over to the Mizo National Front (MNF). The Congress is also facing massive anti- incumbency after two consecutive terms. And this is what the MNF is trying to cash in. MNF leader and former chief minister Zoramthanga claims 바카라hundreds of thousands바카라 of Congressmen have come to his party (See, Congress is Crumbling, MNF Will Form Government).
The surprise package, however, could be the BJP, a marginal player in the state till now but still nurturing dreams of wresting the last bastion of the Congress in the Northeast. What makes the equation interesting is the fact that the MNF is part of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). The Congress alleges that the BJP is trying to grab power through the 바카라back door바카라 like it did in Meghalaya where the party is in the ruling coalition despite winning only two seats. Both the BJP and MNF deny the allegation. 바카라There is no front door, back door or middle door. We want to win as many seats. The state is suffering due to Congress misrule,바카라 says Manash Deka, the BJP state unit바카라s media in-charge.
Also in the reckoning for the state바카라s 40 assembly seats is the Zoram People바카라s Movement, a conglomeration of two regional political parties and five social organisations, which is projecting itself as the third alternative.
Despite the odds stacked against it, the Congress may have found a lifeline in the Shashank controversy, with the chief minister taking the lead in objecting to the actions of the CEO, whose complaint led to the removal of IAS officer Lalnunmawia Chuango as the principal secretary. If public anger turns into votes, the Congress may just scrape through. The Bible is replete with instances of miracles. As a devout Christian, Lal Thanhawla would know better.
By Anupam Bordoloi in Aizawl
