After winning the elections to the village councils of the Mara Autonomous Council last week, the first win of its kind for the party in Mizoram, the BJP has now set its sights on forming the government in the state in the upcoming Assembly elections in December.
As part of its plans, the saffron party is focussing on campaigns in about 15-20 seats in the 40-member Assembly.
The party is also preparing for the upcoming elections to the Chakma Autonomous Council next month. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister Smriti Irani, parliamentarian John Barla, and Tripura MLA Santana Chakma are scheduled to campaign for the elections. Leaders of the party’s Mizoram unit told DH that they have also approached Home Minister Amit Shah to campaign.
State unit leaders said being part of the government is BJP's priority. “The state has never had a BJP government; the electorate needs to warm up to our party and see the welfare schemes that have helped us win state after state,” a senior party leader said.
With a concerted focus on 15-20 seats, the state unit wants to be a part of the government with a possible alliance with the ruling Mizo National Front, which is also a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance in the Centre. The state unit, which was earlier opposed to any alliance with the MNF, has now warmed up to the idea after realising it has a shot at forming a government in the easternmost state.
To this end, the party has also been reaching out to church elders in the Christian-majority state, which saw significant protests during the introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019-20. Party leaders said that they have a presence in the mandals of 32 of the state’s 40 Assembly constituencies.
Apart from winning 14 of the 25 seats in the Mara Autonomous Council, the BJP has also bagged 232 of the 492 seats in the Mara Village Council. The BJP currently has one legislator in the state Assembly.
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