Mizoram: MNF promises anti-defection law if voted to power in LADC elections
Aizawl: Mizoram's main opposition party, Mizo National Front (MNF) vice president and leader of opposition, Lalchhandama Ralte, on Thursday said that if voters elect the party to power in the upcoming Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC) elections on December 3, it will enact an anti-defection law.
Ralte is currently touring several villages in the LADC area to campaign for the party candidates in the upcoming council polls.
Addressing party workers while visiting villages on Thursday, the MNF leader expressed confidence that the party will win the upcoming polls.
Launching a scathing attack on the ruling Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), Ralte said that voters elected the party to power in the 2023 assembly polls, giving it 27 out of 40 seats, because the party had promised to introduce a new system of governance, implement reforms, and improve farmers' status to win the support of government employees, youths, and churches.
"While we were watching the party (ZPM) with high expectations, it began to expose its true nature, like a tiger in sheep's clothing. The ZPM government did not act according to its promises," the sitting MNF legislator and leader of opposition said.
He said that barely two years after assuming power in December 2023, the ZPM suffered a debacle in the Sinlung Hills Council (SHC) polls and again faced a humiliating defeat in the recent bypoll for the Dampa assembly seat.
"Various parties from different backgrounds formed the ZPM. Its members began resigning their memberships, and more are expected to follow. The ZPM resembles a group of broken pots that cannot hold water," he said.
Ralte further said that the MNF, if voted to power in the upcoming council polls, will enact an anti-defection law to prevent elected members from defecting to other parties and to uphold the reputation of the Lai people.
Ralte also blamed the ZPM government for allegedly undermining the rights of district councils regarding land ownership and transfer by adopting the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act.