In Mizoram, it is a battle over local beneficiary schemes of the past, present, and future

Mizoram Congress president Lalsawta trashed the claim of the Mizo National Front on assistance
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AIZAWL Assembly elections in Mizoram have been the blandest in India since 2008 when the church-backed Mizoram People’s Forum came up with the “model code of conduct” to prevent violence and inducements experienced during the 2003 State election.

The code has been punctured during the run-up to the State’s mandate 2023 by a war of words, albeit genteel, over local beneficiary schemes of the past, present, and future.

Apart from ‘Zo unification’ envisaging a greater homeland for the ethnic groups within the Zo family, the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) has been harping about the success of its Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP). The scheme offers financial support of up to ₹3 lakh to beneficiaries for taking up a trade of their preference.

“Some 60,000 families were provided with assistance of ₹50,000 each and another 60,000 were given ₹25,000 each in the second phase. The third phase was suspended temporarily as its initiation coincided with the announcement of the polls,” MNF veteran and Mizoram’s Deputy Chief Minister Tawnluia said.

State Congress president Lalsawta trashed the MNF claim. “They gave only ₹25,000 and only a few party workers got the money, not the farmers and skilled workers who needed it,” he said.

New Land Use Policy

The SEDP, he said, was an “inflated version” of the New Land Use Policy (NLUP), which was launched in January 2011 by the Congress government headed by Lal Thanhawla to offer financial assistance of ₹1 lakh each to 1,20,000 families identified by the agriculture and allied departments.

“People were lured by the promise of ₹3 lakh, thrice as much as the Congress government had offered, and voted the MNF to power in 2018. They found out in less than five years that they have been cheated,” Mr. Lalsawta said.

The BJP’s LOTUS

The BJP, hoping to be in the Mizoram government for the first time, has been critical of the SEDP too. It offered the LOTUS, expanding to Livelihood Opportunity Transformation and Upliftment Scheme, to “bail out” the beneficiaries hit hard by the “fallacies and corruption surrounding SEDP”.

“Our scheme entails the LOTUS family identity card to be issued to all eligible families aimed at improving their quality of life and livelihoods,” Minister for Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju, in charge of the BJP’s election campaign in Mizoram, said.

Rivals MNF, the regional Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), and Congress have cautioned voters to be wary of the BJP scheme “designed to ingrain the party symbol [lotus] in the people’s minds”.

“The BJP can promise the sun and the moon and the stars because it knows it can never form the government in Mizoram on its own,” Chief Minister Zoramthanga said.

The MNF, ZPM, and Congress are contesting all the 40 seats each while the BJP fielded candidates in 23. The fate of 31 independent candidates would also be sealed on November 7 when Mizoram goes to vote.