Lalduhoma & ZPM: behind the remarkable result in Mizoram assembly elections

What is the ZPM, and under what circumstances was it formed?

The ZPM was formed as a coalition of six small regional parties and civil society groups in 2017 as a non-Congress and non-MNF political alternative that promised to address corruption in governance. One of these regional parties was the Zoram Nationalist Party, which had been founded by Lalduhoma, who is now set to be Chief Minister.

The ZPM was not a recognised political party at the time of the 2018 Assembly elections. Instead, the coalition backed 38 Independent candidates. Eight of the candidates supported by the ZPM won, and the coalition emerged as the principal Opposition to the MNF, which won 26 seats in the 40-member House.

The ZPM outperformed the Congress, which had been in power for two preceding terms, but which was relegated to just five seats in 2018. Lalduhoma defeated the incumbent and five-time Congress Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla at the Serchhip constituency.

What has changed for the party in the last five years?

The ZPM was recognised as a political party in 2019. Since 2018, it has grown from a loose coalition into a viable political alternative, having registered several significant victories.

The first major win came in 2021, when Lalduhoma won the Serchhip byelection after he was disqualified from the Assembly for “defecting” to the ZPM after being elected as an Independent in 2018.

The next major victory came when the party won all 11 seats to the municipal council in Lunglei, the second largest town in Mizoram, in April this year. It also won all seven seats in byelections to the Zemabawk local council that same month — this was especially significant because the area comes under what was Zoramthanga’s Assembly constituency.

The ZPM went on to draw several young candidates, including local celebrities, into its fold with the promise of working on a blank slate, without the baggage of established practices and individuals. These included Jeje Lalpekhlua, a former Indian football international, and Lalnghinglova Hmar, popularly known as Tetea Hmar, an executive member of the All India Football Federation. Both Jeje and Tetea have defeated sitting ministers.

And who is Lalduhoma, who is set to be the next Chief Minister?

He is a former IPS officer who served as security in-charge for then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He resigned from the IPS in 1984 and joined the Indian National Congress, and was elected to Lok Sabha later that year.

Lalduhoma ended up becoming the first MP to be disqualified under the anti-defection law in 1988 after he resigned from the Congress. He has been involved in state politics ever since, and was elected to the Assembly in 2003 and 2008 from his earlier party, the ZNP.

What is the basis of the ZPM’s appeal for the voters of Mizoram?

Power in Mizoram has historically moved between the MNF and Congress. The ZPM has broken this cycle by presenting itself as a viable third front, harnessing the accumulated anti-incumbency that had built up over decades against both the established parties.

It presented itself as a corruption-free alternative, and attacked the MNF for not fulfilling its promises, especially its promise of financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh to all families, and for alleged complacency and lethargy.

It promised a “new system” of “administrative reforms, land reforms, economic reforms”, which includes Minimum Support Prices for four locally produced crops: ginger, turmeric, chilli, and broomgrass.

While presenting itself as a fresh force, the party has been careful to underline that in some respects, it is not different from the MNF.

The MNF had leaned heavily on Mizo nationalism in the run-up to the elections — and was expecting electoral dividends from the support it extended to the Chin refugees from Myanmar and the Kuki-Zomi refugees from Manipur (both of the same ethnicity as Mizos). The ZPM sent out clear signals that it did not differ with the MNF on this issue — Lalduhoma has in the past spoken in favour of the unification of Zo territory.

By doing so the ZPM emphasised that Mizo nationalism is not the exclusive domain of the MNF. In fact, it positioned itself as the only authentic regional voice, accusing the MNF of losing its regional identity by being part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.