| Mizoram Assembly Election 2018: BJP looks to make its mark in the state with highest concentration of tribals |
| The Assembly election for Mizoram will take place in December. As BJP looks to make a mark in a state which has key players like Congress and Mizoram National Front (MNF), here is a look at the state's important aspects: |
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| Demographics |
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| Like the Assam election in 2016, the Mizoram election in 2018 may see illegal immigration from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal become one of the most important issues. PTI reported in October 2017 that the state unit of BJP urged the Congress government in the state to detect and deport foreigners who have illegally entered the state from neighbouring countries. In December, a conglomerate of major civil societies and student associations of Mizoram urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that all illegal immigrants, especially Chakmas from Bangladesh, are deported. |
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| The Bru refugee issue also continues to haunt the government. Its decision to undertake the physical repatriation of over 32,000 Brus lodged in six relief camps in North Tripura district from the second week of February could not take off due to legal reasons. |
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| Officials who conducted the identification in the Tripura camps last year identified 32,857 people from 5,413 families as bona fide residents of Mizoram and for physical repatriation. However, the Supreme Court instructed the Mizoram government to not go ahead with the proposed repatriation process. |
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| The Brus have been lodged in the camps since 1997 following exodus from Mizoram due to communal tension triggered by the murder of a forest official by Bru militants. |
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| Political history |
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| Mizoram was originally a part of Assam. It became a Union Territory in 1972. After a tripartite agreement was signed between the Centre, the Mizoram government and the erstwhile terrorist outfit Mizo National Front (MNF) in 1986 (ending two decades long terrorism in the northeastern state), Mizoram was established on 20 February, 1987. |
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| Mizoram became the 23rd state of India and the first state polls were conducted in 1987, with a state Assembly of 40 seats. The state has a unicameral state legislature. |
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| Although the Mizo National Front won the 1998 and 2003 state elections, the Congress has been in power under Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla since 2008, winning the polls in 2008 and 2013. Congress had also won the only parliamentary seat for Mizoram in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. |
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| Key issues |
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| Like the Assam election in 2016, the Mizoram election in 2018 may see illegal immigration from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal become one of the most important issues. PTI reported in October 2017 that the state unit of BJP urged the Congress government in the state to detect and deport foreigners who have illegally entered the state from neighbouring countries. In December, a conglomerate of major civil societies and student associations of Mizoram urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that all illegal immigrants, especially Chakmas from Bangladesh, are deported. |
Source:firstblog.com
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