NPP key in Mizoram polls: Sangma
GUWAHATI: Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma-led National Peoples’ Party (NPP) is trying to woo the tribals and Christians in poll-bound Mizoram , hoping to make inroads into another state in the country’s northeast.
Christians account for 87% of the state’s population while as many as 39 of the 40 seats in Mizoram are reserved for scheduled tribe (ST) candidates. The NPP is contesting nine seats in the state, which goes to the polls on November 28. It hopes to emerge as a kingmaker like it did in Manipur in 2016 and Nagaland in 2018. The NPP is part of coalition governments with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalists Democratic Progressive Party in the two states.
Sangma said his party is the only one working for tribespeople and Christians. “We are a party for the tribals and are working hard to restore our identity as one voice from the northeast. There is a need for all tribals in the region to come together under the NPP banner,” Sangma, who belongs to Meghalaya’s Garo tribe, told a rally in Mizoram on Wednesday.
The NPP has emerged as the biggest regional force in the northeast over the last five years. The party is in power in Meghal- aya besides being part of coalition governments in Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
Late former Lok Sabha speaker, P A Sangma, founded the NPP in 2013 as a Meghalayacentric party. Sangma’s sons, Conrad and James, now helm the NPP, which does not have much of a presence in Mizoram. NPP leads Meghalaya’s ruling coalition with 20 seats. It won four seats in Manipur and two in Nagaland.
In July, seven of the Peoples Party of Arunachal’s nine lawmakers joined the NPP in Arunachal Pradesh and the party became a part of the Bjp-led government in the state.
“Mizoram has always been NPP’S focus for nearly two years now. We have got a very good response, especially from youths. It seems Mizoram will have a hung assembly this time and in that scenario, we will play a key role,” said NPP national general secretary and Mizoram in-charge, Lalrintlunga Jahau.
Congress and t he Mizo National Front are locked in a direct fight for power in Mizoram. It has never had a hung assembly since the state was formed in 1987.
The BJP too, is hoping to make inroads into Mizoram. It has become the biggest political force in the northeast in the last two years. From being a marginal player, the party has formed governments in four states in the region – Tripura, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur. It is part of the ruling coalitions in Meghalaya and Nagaland.
“Like BJP, NPP does not have any roots in the state. If any of their candidates win, it would be purely on the basis of that person’s abilities , not due to the party,” said Mizoram University political science professor J Doungel.