Aizawl: Mizoram Governor General Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd) on Friday appointed BJP leader N. Zangura as the next Chief Executive Member (CEM) of Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC) in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district.
A notification issued by the District Council and Minority Affairs secretary, Zodinpuii, stipulates that Zangura must win a vote of confidence within 10 days of becoming the council’s CEM to prove he holds a majority.
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Zangura’s appointment as the CEM came into effect on April 30, the notification said.
Officials said that Zangura, if proven the majority, will be the fifth CEM in the present term of the LADC.
He will replace Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) leader V. Zirsanga, whose 2-month-old executive committee collapsed after Zangura and another ZPM MDC (Member of District Council) quit the party recently.
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Zangura and BN Thangpuia recently joined the BJP to form joint forces with BJP’s NDA partner Mizo National Front (MNF), which has 11 members in the present LADC.
The MNF is a member of the BJP led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) as well as an ally of the NDA at the Centre. The party, however, does not work with the BJP in Mizoram.
Sources said ZPM leaders met Tuturu Singh in Lunglei on April 23, while he proceeded towards Aizawl for his official induction into the BJP, and this caused him to change his mind after he had initially opted to join the BJP.
On April 24, the BJP and MNF forged an alliance and formed the United Democratic Alliance Legislature Party (UDALP).
The UDALP elected Zangura as its leader and staked claim to form the next executive committee in the 25-member council, threatening to unseat the Zirsanga led executive committee, on April 24.
The Lai tribal people created the LADC in 1972 for themselves in the southern part of Mizoram, and Lawngtlai serves as its headquarters; the LADC is one of the three ADCs in the region.
Apart from 25 elected members, the council has 4 nominated members.
In the LADC polls held in December 2020, the then state’s ruling party, MNF, won a majority by securing 20 out of 25 seats; BJP and Congress each won one seat, and voters elected three independent candidates.
Since then, the guard has changed at least four times, with the latest change occurring on February 27 this year when ZPM leaders inducted a ZPM-led executive committee headed by Zirsanga. The council is due for elections at the end of this year.
State BJP president Vanlalhmuaka said that the BJP-MNF combine now has 13 members, and former CEM and lone Congress MDC C.Lalhmuanthanga has also given external support to the UDALP.
The ZPM currently has 11 members in the LADC.
Meanwhile, Lawngtlai-based Lai Students’ Association (LSA) has urged the Governor to dissolve the council and initiate steps for early elections before November this year.
In a memorandum submitted to the Governor on Tuesday, the LSA alleged that frequent toppling of executive committees and constant jostling for power among MDCs have crippled governance and delayed development across the council’s jurisdiction.