AIZAWL, Oct 8: Mizoram Congress president Lal Thanzara on Tuesday said peace has been restored in the Hmar-dominated northeastern part of Mizoram after years of insurgency because of the efforts of his party.
He made the statement while announcing the names of 12 Congress candidates for the Sinlung Hills Council (SHC) polls.
Addressing the press at the Congress Bhavan in Aizawl, Lal Thanzara said the Congress has always worked for peace and the birth of SHC was the result of the efforts made by the party.
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“At a time when the area was disturbed due to insurgency or misunderstanding between Mizo communities, Congress came forward to restore peace. The Congress-led Mizoram government held talks with Hmar militants, which resulted in the signing of a peace accord in 2018,” he said.
Polling for the SHC will be held on November 5, and 23,789 people, including 11,914 women, will be eligible to exercise their franchise.
The last date for filing nomination papers is October 10, while the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is October 14, according to the State Election Commission.
The Counting of votes will be undertaken as soon as the voting is over, it said.
The ruling ZPM and Hmar People’s Convention (HPC) will contest the elections in an alliance. The ZPM will contest eight seats, while the HPC on four seats.
The main opposition MNF has tied up with the Hmar People’s Convention (Reformed) or HPC (R). The MNF will contest 10 seats, and the HPC (R) two seats.
The SHC has 12 constituencies, comprising 31 villages in the Hmar-dominated northeastern part of Mizoram, covering three assembly constituencies in the Aizawl, Kolasib and Saitual districts.
In the last council polls held in November 2019, the Mizo National Front (MNF)-HPC combine bagged 10 seats, and the other two were won by Independent candidates.
However, in the last five years, there has been a frequent change in the power dynamics in the council and the ZPM-HPC alliance is currently in power.
The SHC was established on July 9, 2018, as a result of the peace accord signed between the Mizoram government and the erstwhile underground Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) or HPC(D) on April 2 that year. (PTI)
