Mizoram: Peace restored in SHC area for Congress’s initiative: Lal Thanzara

Aizawl: Mizoram Congress unit president Lal Thanzara on Tuesday said that peace has been restored in Hmar-dominated Sinlung Hills Council (SHC) in the northeastern part of Mizoram after several years of insurgency due to the initiatives taken by the Congress.

Lal Thanzara announced the names of 12 Congress candidates for the SHC polls, slated for November 5 this year, during a function held at the Congress Bhavan in Aizawl.

Speaking on the occasion, Lal Thanzara said the Congress has always liked peace and the birth of SHC was result of the peace initiative taken by the grand old party.

He claimed the peace that has been restored in the SHC area was the result of the initiative of the Congress.

“At a time when the Sinlung Hills Council area was a disturbed area due to insurgency or misunderstanding between Mizo communities, Congress came forward to restore peace. The Congress-led Mizoram government held talks with the Hmar militants, which resulted in the signing of a peace accord in 2018,” he said.

Polling for the SHC will be held on November 5 in which 23,789 voters, including 11,914 women, are eligible to exercise their franchise. 

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While the last date for filing nomination papers is October 10, the last date for withdrawal of candidature is fixed on October 14, according to the state election commission.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on October 11, it said.

Counting of votes will begin as soon as polling is over and all ballot boxes reach the constituency headquarters on November 5, it added.

The SHC has 12 constituencies, comprising 31 villages in the Hmar-dominated northeastern part of Mizoram, covering three assembly constituencies in the Aizawl, Kolasib and Saitual districts.

In the last council polls held on November 5, 2019, the Mizo National Front (MNF)-HPC combined bagged 10 seats, and the other two were won by independent candidates.

However, in the last five years, there has been a frequent change in power dynamics in the council, and the ZPM-HPC alliance is currently in power.

The SHC was established on July 9, 2018 as a result of the peace accord signed between the Mizoram government and the erstwhile underground Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) or HPC(D) on April 2 the same year.