Unity, public trust key to retaining power: Mizoram Home Minister

Mizoram Home Minister and ruling Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) leader K Sapdanga on Monday, September 14, said party unity, grassroots mobilisation and continued public and church support would be crucial for the party to retain power in the 2028 Assembly elections.

Addressing a party meeting at the ZPM office in Aizawl, Sapdanga said the party had around two years to prepare for the next Assembly polls, expected to be held around November 2028.

He urged party leaders and workers to assess whether the organisation would emerge stronger or lose ground during the period.

"Party leaders and workers are the most important. The contestants are the political parties, and our performance will be reflected in our words and actions. But the people will once again be the ones who give the marks," he said.

Sapdanga attributed the ZPM's victory in the 2023 Assembly elections to unity between the party headquarters, blocks and units, as well as its women and youth wings. He also credited political and poll-day training and grassroots mobilisation for the victory.

The minister stressed the role of churches and public opinion in determining the party's political fortunes, saying churches served as a "mirror" through which the functioning of the party and government could be assessed.

He also cautioned party workers against the misuse of information technology, particularly the leaking of confidential discussions within party committees.

"If we do not use technology carefully, it could become a factor that weakens us. One of our sources of strength could turn into a source of weakness," he said.

Highlighting the government's performance, Sapdanga, who also holds the Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation portfolio, said road and drainage infrastructure in Aizawl was being improved, while the highway connecting Mizoram with the rest of the country was being expanded to four lanes.

He also claimed that government job recruitment had become more transparent and that the universal healthcare scheme was being implemented successfully.

Sapdanga said people were now receiving the full quantity or correct weight of their rice rations and claimed that around 3,365 proxy workers hired by government employees on their behalf had been removed through due process.

He said cooperation between the government and voluntary organisations had improved and claimed that smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar had declined considerably.

The minister also highlighted growth in tourism, saying more visitors were discovering destinations across Mizoram and that tourism could become an important source of income for the state.

"We are also working to make taxi fares more reasonable and useful for tourists. People will gradually learn to use the system effectively. There may still be shortcomings, but we will continue to learn and improve," he said.

Sapdanga also pointed to progress in local entrepreneurship, handicrafts, flower production, waste management and municipal administration under the ZPM government.

He said the government's work was increasingly being reflected in people's daily lives rather than remaining limited to announcements.