Mizoram poll candidates' assets: Some lose, others rake in the moolah

Of the 32 MLAs who are re-contesting the Mizoram assembly,  23 have registered an increase in assets and all are from the Congress. Lalrinliana Sailo, who recently jumped ship and joined the Mizo National Front (MNF), has reported a 797 per cent increase in income over a five-year period.

But there are candidates who are contesting the assembly election again and the income of many of them has come down. Correspondingly, compared to the assets reported in 2013, parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had two MLAs in the last assembly, have lost money over the last five years.

Power cannot necessarily be measured in terms of money, and in Mizoram, politics is not a route to earn money for everyone.

The increase in the assets of many MLAs, however, is modest as against the jump reported in 2013. In 2013, the MNF’s C Ramhluna had recorded a 3,355% increase over the five year period earlier. Following him were Lalrobiaka (2,306%) and Zothangliana (1,351%), both from the Congress. Ramhluna is not contesting this time. But the other two have reported relatively modest increases in their assets in 2018: 49% and 33%, respectively.

In 2017, the BJP had filed a complaint with the state anti-corruption bureau about the increase in the assets of some MLAs. Corruption was its main political plank in this election.

Source: Association for Democratic Reform and Aditi Phadnis