Last Updated on August 23, 2022 9: 41am

AIZAWL: Mizoram’s main opposition party Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) on Monday claimed that the party’s wave is growing not only in the town, but also in rural villages.

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The five-year-old party, which won eight seats in the 2018 assembly polls, now has 6 members in the 40-member state assembly, after it failed to retain two seats in the assembly by-polls.

“We continue to grow constantly in the towns. At the same time, our wave is also growing in rural areas faster than that in the towns. People are urging us to go at a much faster pace,” ZPM treasurer C. Laltanpuia said while addressing a function at the party office in Aizawl.

He said that the ZPM would not have a person that held dual leadership- Chief Minister and party president, when the party came to power in the state.

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He said that dual leadership, which is inherent in the existing political system, used to create several problems in executing good governance.

“The leader, who holds dual leaderships (party president and chief minister) in a democracy used to act like a dictator, which in turn impacts the people as it tends to create the mentality of cajoling ministers or MLAs,” Laltanpuia said.

He said that the ZPM party would implement its policies in real and not on paper if it comes to power.

The ZPM was formed by several minor parties as an “electoral alliance” in 2017.

The alliance was converted into a single political party and obtained party registration in July 2019, seven months after it contested the assembly polls.

In the last assembly polls held in November 2018, the party won 8 seats with party chief ministerial candidate Lalduhoma winning two seats- Serchhip and Aizawl West-I.

Later, Lalduhoma vacated Aizawl West –I to retain Serchhip.

The party lost Aizawl West-I seat in the bypoll held in April 2019 and also failed to retain Tuirial seat, which bypoll held in October last year was necessitated by the demise of the incumbent ZPM legislator Andrew H. Thangliana.

The party has 6 members in the 40-member state assembly, while the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) has 28, Congress- 5 and BJP has 1.