Aizawl, April 03: In a historic victory, the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), Mizoram’s main opposition party, won all 11 seats in the Lunglei Municipal Council (LMC) polls, marking the first time the party has won a majority in a local body poll since its formation in 2017.
The party, which has six members in the 40-member Mizoram assembly, claimed that the mandate shows the people’s desire for change in the existing political system. Of the 11 seats, four were reserved for women.
The LMC polls, held on March 29, saw the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), ZPM, and Congress fielded 11 candidates each, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contested nine seats.
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However, the ZPM emerged as the clear winner with a clean sweep of all the seats, sending shockwaves through the state’s political landscape.
ZPM president Lalliansawta stated that the victory in the LMC polls is a forerunner of the state assembly polls due later this year, further hinting at the party’s growing ambitions to take the reins of the state’s governance.
The win marks a significant shift in the state’s political equations, as the MNF and Congress, which have dominated the state’s politics for decades, have been dealt a severe blow.
The ZPM’s victory is seen as a reflection of the people’s dissatisfaction with the MNF and Congress’s governance, with issues such as unemployment, development, and corruption at the forefront. The ZPM has promised to prioritize these issues and bring about significant changes if allowed to govern the state.
The party’s success in the LMC polls has given it the much-needed boost to challenge the MNF and Congress’s dominance in the upcoming state assembly polls. With the election season heating up, it remains to be seen whether the ZPM can translate its success in the LMC polls into a victory in the state assembly polls and emerge as a major player in the state’s politics.
