Mizoram: Lalsawta And "A New Form Of Governance"
Lalsawta, the President of Mizoram Congress is considered one of the strong candidates in Mizoram Assembly elections. He is the big shot of Congress for the Chief Minster post if the party win majority in Assembly poll. The 71-year-old leader is competing from Aizawl West III.
Lalsawta served as Mizoram’s Finance Minister during Congress’ term in the state from 2008 to 2018. He is remembered the steps he took to boost the sate’s agriculture based economy, the New Economic Development Policy (NEDP), for which he allocated 1000 crore
After the retirement of Lal Thanhawla, the longest serving Chief Minister of Mizoram stepped down from active politics in 2021, Lalsawta was appointed as the President of Congress. Lal Thanhawla was the former Chief Minister of Mizoram who won a total of nine elections from 1978 to 2018.
He secured his place is in the winning team by competing from Aizawl East II, during 2008 and 2013, but lost the chair in 2018 to Robert Romawia Royte of MNF. The 2018 election was a major blow for Lalsawta’s party, as its seat dropped from 34 to five. When MNF bagged 41.4 percent, Congress could only gain 26.9 percent of vote.
The former Finance Minister of the state is said to have a “clean corruption-free” image in his political career. This time he is competing against V L Zaithanzama, the incumbent MLA, who is from Zoram People Movement (ZPM) and K Lalsawmvela, who is from Mizo National Front (MNF).
Lalsawta offered the people of Mizoram, one lakh jobs by establishing “young Mizo entrepreneurship programme with startup funding provisions”, and Rs 15 lakh health insurance to each family who does not have a regular government employee. On November 7th, after casting the vote, the Congress leader said that, “we are confident that we will form the government. In this constituency, it is difficult to prophecy. But I think we can come on top”.
Earlier, while talking to PTI, Lalsawta told that only Congress can help Mizoram out of its “financial mismanagement” by introducing Old Pension Scheme (OPS). He said Congress hopes to receive 26 seats, “if not that, at least 25 seats are for sure”. He accused both MNF and ZPM for slanting towards BJP as they are part of NDA bloc.
As part of the campaign, he said that “religious freedom will be ensured only when the Congress forms the government” by siting the Christian majority of the state which constitute to 80 percentage. He also added that, if BJP comes to power, religious freedom will not be ensured “because of its Hindutva ideologies”.
He also promised to form a sub-committee whose “prime objective will be to eliminate corruption from the state”. Citing the refugees from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Mizoram, he said, “we will help them as long as we can. We will discuss with the Centre to find a way out to handle the crisis without creating further problems for the displaced people”.
