Upset at not finding a ready market for ginger,a farmer in Mizorams Sialhawk village has not shaved for 15 years after pledging not to do so until the Zoram Nationalist Party,led by former MP Lalduhawma,comes to power. Biakvela,63,was once a local unit leader and staunch supporter of the Mizo National Front,which ruled Mizoram between 1998 and 2008. I had hoped my old party would buy the ginger from farmers like us but it did not take up any such policy, Biakvela says. In a fit of rage,I turned in my party seal and books and joined the ZNP,which promised to frame such a policy for farmers. Soon afterward,Lalduhawma welcomed me into the party with a small ceremony just outside my house,where I pledged I would not shave until the party comes to power. It has been a long wait since then because the ZNP,formed by former IPS officer Lalduhawma after he left both the Congress and the MNF,is a small party,the only active one in the state that is yet to form a government although its chief has been ahead in opinion polls asking people about their most preferred CM candidate. Though the most pre-poll noise appears to be emanating from the ZNP this time and most Mizo youths appear to be leaning towards the underdog in state politics,the partys reach can be gauged from the fact that many of its candidates some of whom are bureaucrats,academics and Christian youth leaders with good reputations are political rookies,some of them given tickets the same day they joined the party. A recent photo of Biakvela with Lalduhawmas arm around his shoulder was flashed by ZNP leader Rothuama Sailo on Facebook recently,and the farmer suddenly found himself famous although many comments on the site have poked fun. Rothuama put the picture,which was taken when Lalduhawma came to Khawhai sub-town during a recent campaign trip,on Facebook. I have seen some of the comments. Some are saying I will never shave my beard because the ZNP will never come to power,some are saying I will have to wait for many more years while some say I will shave this year, Biakvela says. He admits he has been taunted a lot by fellow-villagers,friends and family. I made a pledge and,well,a pledge should not be broken. So every time I get taunted I just scratch my head and say,well,maybe this year is the year God ordains as the year I shave, he says,laughing over the phone. Biakvela has over the years risen in the ZNP ranks,and he is currently one of two vice-presidents of the partys block unit in the southern part of Tuichang constituency,represented by Mizorams controversial health minister Lalrinliana Sailo. With his party still having never tasted power,however,he remains a farmer although he admits he is too old to grow ginger,one of Mizorams most important crops,and usually fishes in ponds using a net. His ginger crop anyway rotted two years ago after he was unable to find a market for it,and he was unable to plant any more due to his age and also because he could not find seeds even in the forests. His son,Lalthlamuana,is a carpenter who owns a small furniture shop in Champhai town,the district headquarters. He has promised his father he will close down his shop,come home and plant ginger in their farm once again if the ZNP,which promises to buy farm produce through a robust policy,comes to power.
