Can Mizoram’s Unique Campaigning Model Be Replicated Elsewhere?

AIZAWL: The fervour of two events driving the country crazy — Sachin Tendulkar's swansong Tests and the upcoming assembly elections — is missing almost entirely in Mizoram.

Being in a football-crazy state, it is understandable that most television sets are tuned in to mundane Hindi soaps, films dubbed in the local language and western music videos even as the Maestro turns out at Kolkata's Eden Garden. But the absence of any din related to polls — barely a fortnight away, is conspicuous, more so for a state that recorded an impressive 82% voter turnout in 2008.

There are no posters to be seen anywhere in the city, while the handful of banners are within the size stipulated by a local NGO. Candidates are barred from distributing footballs and party workers are not allowed to wear caps, T-shirts or badges with the election symbol printed on them.

Though political analyst Vanlalruate expects the chatter to get louder as campaigning - heavily monitored by the Church and its vigilante groups like Mizoram People's Forum (MPF) — picks up after Monday's deadline for withdrawal of nominations, he is sure that it would never reach the fever pitch associated with elections elsewhere in the country.

"Mizoram has always been an unusually quiet place - even in the capital city of Aizawl you barely ever get to hear any honking," he says. "Though things will pick up with Rahul and Sonia Gandhi visiting the state next week, it will never become even a fraction of the circus that it does elsewhere."

Among the MPF's diktats - prohibiting door-to-door campaigns, feasts, separate rallies and slandering rivals — that make electioneering a colourless and low-key, if utopian, affair, the one that has riled youngsters most is the ban on musical road shows.

"This is beyond the polling norms issued by the EC and it does no good for anybody. Not only does it stop musicians from earning their livelihood during this festival of democracy, it also takes away the one thing that attracts Mizo youth to politics," says Lalfengmawia, a senior functionary of the MZI, a federation of musicians and singers. "Even in the US, reputed bands like U2 and Pink Floyd perform for Republicans and Democrats and nobody makes a big deal about it."

Emanuel Lalhriazual Ralte, a 31-year-old entrepreneur, agrees: "Narendra Modi may be dividing opinions across the country, but he does not have much traction in Mizoram, and Rahul is known more as the son of Rajiv Gandhi, who is held in high regard by locals for the 1986 peace accord, ending years of brutal insurgency. I can assure you, more Mizos would turn up for music concerts than for rallies by either of the two."

Some believe that the campaigning structure in Mizoram is a model that could be replicated elsewhere in the country. Hoping that the turnout beats Tripura's record of 90%, chief electoral officer Ashwani Kumar says: "Campaigning in Mizoram works very differently. There are a very few violations of the code of conduct — candidates here actually call us to inform us about their canvassing plans and ensure that their strategy does not flout EC guidelines."

Lalthlamuana Ralte, an assistant professor at Aizawl's Pachhunga University College, says: "I am in favour of third-party controlled campaigning as it ends bribing for votes and provides a level playing field, but I do not believe it will work in other parts of the country. Religious organizations interfering with politics will not be taken kindly in other places."

By Vishant V Agarwala, TNN

Election in the Lord’s Own Country

Aizawl, Nov 8 : 'Thy Kingdom Come.' That's how Mizoram welcomes you. Painted big and bold across a giant Cross a few yards from the runway at state capital Aizwal's Lengpui airport, the message seems ominous as you get familiar with the political nitty-gritty of this Christian-dominated state.

Here, the entire election process has a sense of divine edict about it. Not only does the Church have a say in polling and counting dates — the upcoming assembly election was rescheduled to accommodate the Presbyterian Church's five-day Synod despite chief electoral officer Ashwani Kumar's protests, and counting postponed by a day to November 9 because "Sunday is meant for prayers" — the clergy also plays a virtual election commission.

The Church has issued a four-page list of dos and don'ts for both voters and candidates. Apart from the usual honesty and harmony bits, it says, "You should refrain from voting for those who drink or have extramarital sex." With almost 70 per cent of Mizoram following the Presbyterian Church, no party wants to rub them the wrong way.

Dr Robert S Halliday, secretary of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church, said, "The common people of Mizoram are a pious lot and they will abide by any guideline issued by the Church. We can only urge them to lead a moral life. We do not want to interfere with the election, rather we want to facilitate the process."

Meanwhile, Mizoram People's Forum, a Church-sponsored watchdog formed in 2006, has signed a 27-point 'MoU' with all major political parties, including the ruling Congress and BJP, to ensure a 'free and fair' election. Apart from strict curbs on lavish campaigning, the charter also prohibits tall promises in manifestoes, bans public meetings and protest rallies, and tells parties not to organize vehicles to drop voters to polling booths.

With the Church wielding influence on the nearly 90 per cent Christians, no party defies the diktats. If they do, MPF would "invalidate the party," says the 'MoU'. Hinting at the impending visit of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi later this month, MPF general secretary Lalramthanga said, "The rules will not be relaxed for star campaigners of national parties. MPF will conduct their public meetings that have been permitted by the Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee."

Insisting that the EC, MPF and the Church share a common goal — a free and fair election — CEO Kumar explained the phenomenon: "In Mizoram, the Church is far older than the government. The state was formed in 1986 after the Church facilitated the peace process. Until recently, they were the ones looking after the education and healthcare of the people. The Church is not just a religious institution here, it is a way of life and the centre of all social activities."

So why do parties give in to the Church's demands. "While the realpolitik is the same across the country, unlike most parts of mainland India, constituencies here are small — about 15,000 to 20,000 people — and each vote counts. No politician can afford to ignore the Church's guidelines," says Kumar.

He believes the Church would have risen in stature if it had not forced a change of polling and counting dates.

While MPF has been honoured and lauded by the Election Commission of India for its efforts, there are many who question the role a religious body plays in a democratic process.

"Elections should be secular. The scenario in Mizoram is like that of 18th century Europe when religious doctrine got mixed up with political administration and what happened is history," said Lallianchhunga, assistant professor at Mizoram University's department of political science. "Would similar orders issued by another religious body in another part of India be accepted by the politicians?" he asked. "Going by this logic, we shouldn't have elections on Fridays and Tuesdays either because they are holy days for some religions."

Another reason parties toe the Church's line, said Lallianchhunga, is the absence of significant political issues in Mizoram. With no militancy, negligible poverty, a literacy rate second only to Kerala and a crime rate comparable to Scandinavia, politicians do not have a proper plank to stand on. "The only platform left for them is morality. The politicians may say they have nothing to do with the Church or MPF, but, in truth, it is a symbiotic relationship. Each feeds on the other for power over people," he says.

College student Nghaka believes MPF is a Frankenstein in the making. "What authority does it have to issue guidelines above and beyond those issued by the EC. The group is just seven years old and it is going to get far more powerful with time," he said. "We are supposed electing leaders, not saints. And some of the best leaders in world history — including Churchill and Kennedy, one a heavy drinker and another known for extramarital affairs — would never have been able to contest elections in Mizoram."

Mizoram Ponzi Victims Pin Hopes On Assembly Polls

By Rahul Karmakar

Aizawl, Nov 8 : Much before the Saradha storm, Mizoram endured Chiahpuam that hit 10,000 families across the urban landscape. The victims have now regrouped to elect whoever can get their money back.

Chiahpuam was a Ponzi scheme that caught the fancy of Mizos a decade ago until the bubble burst in 2008. Hundreds of investors, mostly government servants, found that they had sunk `80-90crore in a fake bank.

A few arrests were made but the assembly elections that year stole the focus from the investors’ plight. And the money confiscated from the scam masterminds — the real culprits, allegedly government officers, were never caught — was locked away in a savings account of the Aizawl superintendent of police (SP).

“The investors say the police seized around Rs. 25 crore, but the account of the Aizawl SP has only Rs. 12 crore, meant for redistribution to all depositors,” Helena Malsawmkimi, chairperson of the Mizoram Women Workers’ Union, which is fighting for justice to the depositors, said.

“We want all the confiscated assets and money to be returned to the depositors, besides blocking the accounts of all suspects and enforcement of Mizoram Protection of Interest of Depositors Act of 2003.”

Many like former schoolteacher H Thanhlira, she said, were literally hounded to deposit their post-retirement money in Chiahpuam. Thanhlira, 70, has gone back to the primitive jhum or shifting cultivation to sustain his family of seven.

Mizoram Starved For Power, Yet Wary of Building Dams

By Adam Halliday
Aizawl, Nov 8 : One development plan that seems to be moving backwards in poll-bound Mizoram is hydro power.

"We have said many times we are going to dam all our rivers," Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had said when this journalist asked AICC general secretary Luizinho Faleiro in September how the party intends to boost the state's debt-ridden economy if it wins again.

The state Congress president had indeed said at several public meetings earlier that dams would be built across the more than a dozen rivers that run through the hill state's ravines so that they can generate 2500 MW.

As things stand now, plans are afoot and some work has begun on building dams across five rivers that can generate close to 1,000 MW for a state that requires barely 100 MW but where about 90 per cent of the demand is imported.

Among the proposed schemes is the 210-MW Tuivai project, approved earlier this year by the Centre and set to be the first hydro power project in India to be built through viability-gap funding and on a public-private partenrship.

But Lal Thanhawla's government appears to have climbed down from its damming plans after anti-dam sentiment began surfacing, most of it fuelled by fears generated by the inundation of Builum village in northern Mizoram by the Serlui hydro power project, which anyway has been able to produce just a fraction of the 12 MW it was expected to.

The first opposition to a policy of damming all Mizoram's rivers came from the Science Teachers' Association of Mizoram, which cautioned against going head-on without first calculating the risks. The rebel group-turned-political party Hmar People's Convention said shortly after that it would oppose the Tuivai project at any cost since it would inundate several villages in the area.

Later, the powerful Young Mizo Association, the largest mass-based voluntary organisation in Mizoram, spoke out against the planned Tipaimukh dam on the Manipur-Mizoram border and questioned the wisdom behind dams in general given the amount of land it feared these will submerge.

In recent speeches, Lal Thanhawla has been more careful about talking about dams, and has said repeatedly, "We will work towards quickly finding and exploiting natural gas reserves which some companies have already begun so that we would not have to dam all our rivers."

Interestingly, the Congress manifesto for the November 25 polls does not even mention dams, and only states that the party will "try to produce at least 280 MW and try to have electricity in all rural areas within 5 years."

In another section the manifesto states the party "will continue to explore natural resources to earn more state revenue, produce electricity and cooking gas."

The Mizoram Democratic Alliance led by the Mizo National Front with the Mizoram People's Conference and Maraland Democratic Front has been more blatant about completing the planned hydro power projects, promising in a joint manifesto that four planned dams with a combined capacity of almost 1,100 MW "will be completed as early as possible".

However, it adds, "In view of the environmental impact that hydroelectric power projects and dams have, proposals for harnessing hydroelectric power will be reviewed taking into account the comprehensive survey and study of land that will be inundated and displacement of population."

Demand & Supply

2,500 MW if all rivers dammed

1,000 MW once five dams under construction completed

100 MW is all Mizoram needs

90% of that is imported

Youth Sidelined By Mizoram Parties

By Linda Chhakchhuak

Aizawl, Nov 8 : Party elders has sidelined youth leadership with geriatric candidates getting preference over the youth. Across party lines, youth leaders, who had been earmarked as candidates, have lost out during last minute string-pulling spilling discontent among the young rank and file of all the major political parties in Mizoram.

Eleven candidates in the 2013 fray including some from the ruling Indian National Congress (INC), were candidates in the general elections in 1972 when Mizoram was still a Union Territory.

As polling day for the 40 member State Assembly draws near, the Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC), a party nurtured by the legendary Brig T Sailo, got a jolt when leaders of its youth wing resigned enmasse protesting the denial of candidature to the president of the youth wing.

“Not only did they ignore our request, the party leaders have sold out to other parties just to satisfy the ambitions of a few of the party leaders who only want to become MLAs,” said C Lalliankhuma, vice president of the MPC. Flanked by about eight of his youth wing party men, he blasted the party leaders for forging an alliance with the Mizo National Front (MNF) and drowning out all future hopes for the party which had been nurtured by Brig T Sailo, he said.

“By agreeing to enslave themselves to the MNF, which has allowed them only eight seats, and even snatched away our leader, Brig Sailo’s constituency, our party leaders have rung the death knell of our party. We do not see any hope for the MPC in the future and this is why we are leaving it enmasse”, he said. The MPC has joined the MNF in a pre-poll alliance going under the Mizo Democratic Alliance umbrella.

In the MNF camp, the fact that youth wing president, P C Laltlansanga failed to figure in the list of candidates, has raised a sliver of anger in the younger ranks, but the party leaders seem to have managed to cool down frayed tempers. It was a foregone conclusion that Laltlansanga would get a seat as his name had already been unofficially announced several months back which had kept the youth leader busy nurturing his constituency. “He has spent time and money in the field and now they refuse to give him a seat. Had it not been for his campaigning on various issues in the past year, the MNF would not have had any presence in the State. And now this rejection, what a disappointment!” said a supporter.

In a similar vein, the Mizoram Youth Congress president, C Lalawmpuii fell from grace at the last minute. A sure shot candidate, being the leader of the youth wing, dynamic and highly vocal and a woman to boot, which would have made it a politically correct choice in this day and age, the geriatric Mizoram Pradesh Congress leadership seem to have given the chance to throw up fresh leadership the go by.

“From all this we can see that the political parties are still living in the past and wooing the electorate with the same old men who have ruled us for decades,” said a youngster. Across party lines, youthful politicians have sympathised with each other on this issue.

Mizoram Election Update: Nov 8

Mizo church body imposes tighter poll code in state

The Assembly elections in Mizoram are being held under the strict guidelines of the widely-influential Mizoram People’s Forum, an election watchdog controlled by the synod, the largest Church body in Mizoram.

The forum has formulated 27 rules for the political parties and candidates. No candidate can organise political meetings without the forum’s permission. One of the rules advises political parties to compile an election manifesto, which can be implemented, instead of making empty promises.

So strong is the all-pervasive control of the synod on the state, which will elect a 40-member Assembly on November 25, that even the Opposition parties, who feel that the forum is soft on the ruling Congress party, don’t have the confidence to file a complaint with the synod or the administrative authorities.

The forum has warned that if any political party violates any of the 27 rules, they will risk being “invalidated.” The EC is supportive of the forum. Asked about the pro-active role of the church body, Mizoram’s chief electoral officer Ashwani Kumar said in Aizawl, “The Election Commission’s and the MPF’s aims are similar — to ensure free and fair elections.”

Security beefed up at borders of poll-bound Mizoram

Security has been tightened along the unfenced 64-km-long border near the tri-junction of Mizoram-Tripura-Bangladesh in the state's Mamit district ahead of the November 25 Assembly polls, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashwani Kumar today said.

Kumar told PTI that patrolling by Central para-military force personnel has been intensified in the area as the Bangladesh and Tripura sides were frequently used by north east insurgents for crimes like abductions and extortion.

Mizoram Election Update: Nov 7

Lal Thanhawla to face tough contest in Mizoram Assembly polls

Serchhip constituency in Mizoram's central district of Serchhip would be one of the most interesting seats in the coming elections to the 40-member state Assembly to be held on November 25.

Four-time Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, who would be contesting from the seat, would be facing a tough contest from C Lalramzauva, an advocate and common nominee of the Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA).

Lal Thanhawla had contested and won six times from this seat and lost only once in 1998 to a retired engineer K Thangzuala of the Mizo National Front (MNF).

This time, MDA, the three-party alliance of the MNF, the Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF) is trying to repeat the 1998 debacle of the Chief Minister.

In 2008, Lalramzauva, who contested the polls from Serchhip constituency on a Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) ticket, lost to Lal Thanhawla by a margin of 952 votes and by a margin of 1399 votes in 2003.

Lal Thanhawla would also contest from Hrangturzo constituency in Sechhip district, which was being occupied by Lalthansanga of the MPC, now a common candidate of the MDA.

Another interesting seat would be the East Tuipui in Mizoram-Myanmar border Champhai district where former chief minister Zoramthanga of the opposition MNF was pitted against a retired senior bureaucrat T Sangkunga of the ruling Congress.

Till recently, Sangkunga was the president of the powerful central committee of the Young Mizo AssociationP C Zoram SanglianaLalchamliana (YMA), the apex Mizo body.

Zoramthanga, the two-time chief minister and former underground leader, had contested and won from this seat in 1998 and vacated the seat in favour of his close aide K Vanlalauva as he also won from Champhai seat, his home turf.

A battle royal is exptected in Kolasib seat along the Assam border district of Kolasib where the ZNP chief Lalduhawma was pitted against state transport minister and Congress nominee Young Mizo AssociationP C Zoram SanglianaLalchamliana and former Speaker Young Mizo AssociationP C Zoram SanglianaLalchamliana of the MDA. 

Mizoram’s third woman candidate

B Sangkhumi, a former head of Mizoram's apex women's body Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP), is set to contest as an independent from Champhai South constituency. The wife of former adviser to then chief minister Zoramthanga of the MNF, Sangkhumi is among only three women who will contest in the November 25 Mizoram Assembly elections, where female voters outnumber males.

15 years on, looking once again for a reason to shave

Upset at not finding a ready market for ginger, a farmer in Mizoram's Sialhawk village has not shaved for 15 years after pledging not to do so until the Zoram Nationalist Party, led by former MP Lalduhawma, comes to power.

Biakvela, 63, was once a local unit leader and staunch supporter of the Mizo National Front, which ruled Mizoram between 1998 and 2008.

"I had hoped my old party would buy the ginger from farmers like us but it did not take up any such policy," Biakvela says. "In a fit of rage, I turned in my party seal and books and joined the ZNP, which promised to frame such a policy for farmers. Soon afterward, Lalduhawma welcomed me into the party with a small ceremony just outside my house, where I pledged I would not shave until the party comes to power."

It has been a long wait since then because the ZNP, formed by former IPS officer Lalduhawma after he left both the Congress and the MNF, is a small party, the only active one in the state that is yet to form a government although its chief has been ahead in opinion polls asking people about their most preferred CM candidate.

Though the most pre-poll noise appears to be emanating from the ZNP this time and most Mizo youths appear to be leaning towards the underdog in state politics, the party's reach can be gauged from the fact that many of its candidates — some of whom are bureaucrats, academics and Christian youth leaders with good reputations — are political rookies, some of them given tickets the same day they joined the party.

A recent photo of Biakvela with Lalduhawma's arm around his shoulder was flashed by ZNP leader Rothuama Sailo on Facebook recently, and the farmer suddenly found himself famous although many comments on the site have poked fun.

"Rothuama put the picture, which was taken when Lalduhawma came to Khawhai sub-town during a recent campaign trip, on Facebook. I have seen some of the comments. Some are saying I will never shave my beard because the ZNP will never come to power, some are saying I will have to wait for many more years while some say I will shave this year," Biakvela says.

He admits he has been taunted a lot by fellow-villagers, friends and family.

"I made a pledge and, well, a pledge should not be broken. So every time I get taunted I just scratch my head and say, well, maybe this year is the year God ordains as the year I shave," he says, laughing over the phone.

Biakvela has over the years risen in the ZNP ranks, and he is currently one of two vice-presidents of the party's block unit in the southern part of Tuichang constituency, represented by Mizoram's controversial health minister Lalrinliana Sailo.

With his party still having never tasted power, however, he remains a farmer although he admits he is too old to grow ginger, one of Mizoram's most important crops, and usually fishes in ponds using a net.

His ginger crop anyway rotted two years ago after he was unable to find a market for it, and he was unable to plant any more due to his age and also because he could not find seeds even in the forests.

His son, Lalthlamuana, is a carpenter who owns a small furniture shop in Champhai town, the district headquarters. He has promised his father he will close down his shop, come home and plant ginger in their farm once again if the ZNP, which promises to buy farm produce through a robust policy, comes to power.

Candidates named for Mizoram polls

All parties in Mizoram have announced their candidates for the elections to the 40-member state assembly to be held on November 25.

All parties in Mizoram have announced their candidates for the elections to the 40-member state assembly to be held on November 25. The ruling Congress is contesting from all 40 seats while the main opposition party, the Mizo National Front (MNF), is contesting from 31 seats with its pre-poll allies the Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF) contesting eight and one seats, respectively.

Fully prepared for Mizoram Assembly polls on Nov 25: Chief Election Commissioner

V S Sampath says 94 of the1,126 polling stations are critical and special measures have been taken to keep a watch on them

The Election Commission is fully prepared for the upcoming polls to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly scheduled for November 25, Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath said here today.

100 % updated photo electoral rolls and 100 % Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) by the state election department was highly commendable, Sampath told reporters.

He said 94 of the1,126 polling stations are critical and special measures have been taken to keep a watch on them.

"Security has been tightened and beefed up in these critical areas and along the border areas with Myanmar, Bangladesh and neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur and Tripura," he said, adding quick response teams and flying squads would be deployed with executive magistrates in these areas.

During the meetings which the EC held yesterday and today, it was decided that damaged roads due to heavy rains in many places, specially in the southern districts, should be repaired on war-footing, the CEC said.

Alternate communication network for interior villages where mobile network is absent would be arranged, he said, adding concerned officials have been instructed to take strict action to curb flow of illicit liquor to prevent electoral malpractices.

Sampath also urged the voters to come out in large numbers on the day of polling.

Officials told PTI that coordination with the Assam Rifles in areas along the Manipur border and security along the 64 km long un-fenced border near tri-junction of Mizoram-Tripura-Bangladesh in Mamit district was also discussed with the EC during the meeting attended by Chief Secretary Ms L Tochhong, DGP and other senior officials today.

CEC Sampath, Election Commissioners H S Brahma and Dr Nasim Zaidi and top officials of the EC, who arrived in Aizawl yesterday returned to Delhi today.

Mizoram Creates History By Issuing 100 pc EPIC

By Linda Chhakchhuak
Aizawl, Nov 7 : Mizoram has created history by being the only State in the country to have completed the process of issuing Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) to 100 per cent voters.

“Mizoram’s electoral track record is the envy of every other State”, said the Election Commission of India in a poll-preparedness review Press conference here today.

The Commission members arrived here yesterday and left this morning. Commending the office of the State Chief Electoral Officer for this singular achievement, the full Election Commission of India, represented by VS Sampath, HS Brahma and Dr Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi said that this will go a long way in ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections. The EC called on the people of the State to create more history by “making this an unprecedented election in participation.”

The Election Commission of India was on a visit to review the poll preparedness of the State and held meetings with the State officials including the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police.

The ECI was, however, concerned with the poor road conditions to the polling stations which could hamper poll participation and shadow areas of communication. Sampath said that he had asked that these areas be given connectivity and the bad roads repaired on a war footing.

Another first in election history is that the ECI opened its doors to civil society organisations in its poll preparedness review meetings.

“The EC meets political parties for reviews but for the first time we met civil society organisations (CSOs) giving them equal time. This is a new experience for us. We record our special appreciation of the State CSOs for promoting ethics, values of free and fair elections and working for higher participation of voters,” said Sampath. He said that State Election officials have been instructed to work in tandem with them.

Mizoram would also be pioneering the use of Voters Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in the general elections, said Sampath. It will be used in 10 Assembly constituencies in the Aizawl urban areas.