Congress and ZPM forge alliance in Mizoram

The opposition Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) in Mizoram and the Congress have forged an alliance to contest the Lok Sabha election and an Assembly by-poll, Congress sources said Tuesday.

According to the understanding, which will be announced later, the Congress will field candidate in the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state and the ZPM will contest the Aizawl West-I assembly seat.

Both the elections would be held together on April 11.

The Congress and the ZPM have five and eight legislators respectively in the 40-member assembly.

The Congress needs a new candidate for the Lok Sabha seat as its sitting MP, 84-year-old C L Ruala, would not contest because of old age.

Ruala had been elected to the Lok Sabha for two consecutive terms.

The by-poll to the Aizawl West-I assembly seat was necessitated after the ZPM's chief ministerial candidate Lalduhoma, who won from two constituencies vacated the seat.

Lalduhoma had defeated the then chief minister Lal Thanhawla in Serchhip constituency, and former minister K Sangthuama of the Mizo National Front (MNF) in Aizawl West-I in the assembly polls held on November 28 last year.

Meanwhile, the ruling MNF, the BJP and the People's Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM) party had announced that they would go it alone in the polls.