Mizoram Speaker resigns, to contest polls on BJP ticket

AIZAWL — Ahead of the November 7 Assembly polls in Mizoram, the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) received a setback on Wednesday after Speaker Lalrinliana Sailo resigned from his post and Assembly membership, stating that he would join the BJP and contest the upcoming elections on a saffron party ticket.

Sailo submitted his resignation letter to Deputy Speaker H. Biakzaua and requested him to accept it at the earliest.

After stepping down from the Speaker’s post, the 64-year-old MNF leader said that he would soon join the BJP and contest the November 7 Assembly polls on a saffron party ticket.

“I will quit the MNF and join the BJP for the all-round development of Mizoram. As the BJP is now in power at the Centre, Mizoram needs support and funding from the Union government,” Sailo told the media. 

The ruling MNF had last month finalised candidates for all the 40 Assembly seats in the state, denying ticket to Sailo that triggering his annoyance.

The Congress-turned-MNF leader got elected to the Assembly four times from the Chalfilh constituency.

BJP sources confirmed that Sailo will be inducted into the saffron party on Thursday.

With this, eight MLAs, including two from MNF, have quit the Assembly in Mizoram this month.

Five Independent MLAs had resigned from the Assembly on Tuesday, in line with the technical formalities to contest the November 7 elections as nominees of Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), the northeastern state’s main opposition party.

All the five MLAs originally belonged to the ZPM but contested the 2018 Assembly polls as Independents since the ZPM was not a registered political party at the time.

As the five Independent MLAs are now going to contest the Assembly elections as candidates of ZPM, which is now a registered party, they are liable to be disqualified if they do not resign, an Assembly official said.

Their leader Lalduhoma was elected in a bypoll in 2021 as a ZPM candidate and does not require to resign, the official said, adding that the five legislators can now file nomination on ZPM tickets.

Earlier this month, Congress MLA K.T. Rokhaw and former minister and MNF MLA K. Beichhua had resigned.

Rokhaw has already joined the MNF, while Beichhua has joined the BJP and they will contest from Palak and Siaha Assembly constituencies, respectively.

Beichhua, who had resigned from Chief Minister Zoramthanga’s ministry on December 13 last year, was expelled from the party by the MNF in January this year.

The ZPM won eight seats in the 2018 Assembly polls, but lost two seats in the subsequent bypolls while retaining the Serchhip seat in the 2021 byelection.

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