Mizo National Front | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | MNF |
President | Zoramthanga |
Rajya Sabha Leader | K. Vanlalvena |
Founder | Laldenga |
Founded | 1961 |
Headquarters | Zarkawt, Aizawl, Mizoram |
Youth wing | Mizo National Youth Front |
Women's wing | Mizo National Women Front |
Ideology | Mizo nationalism Conservative Christianity [1] Zo Unification [2] Anti-CAA [3] |
Colours | |
ECI Status | State Party [4] |
Alliance |
|
Seats in Lok Sabha | 0 / 543 |
Seats in Rajya Sabha | 1 / 245 |
Seats in Mizoram Legislative Assembly | 10 / 40 |
Election symbol | |
Website | |
mnfparty | |
The Mizo National Front ( abbr. MNF) is a regional political party in Mizoram, India. MNF emerged from the Mizo National Famine Front, which was formed by Pu Laldenga to protest against the inaction of the Government of India towards the famine situation in the Mizo areas of the Assam state in 1959. It staged a major uprising in 1966, followed by years of underground activities. In 1986, it signed the Mizoram Accord with the Government of India, renouncing secession and violence. The MNF then began contesting elections and has formed state government in Mizoram three times. It is currently the state's opposition party, with its president, Zoramthanga, as the Former Chief Minister of Mizoram. [5]
In 1958, the Mizo Hills were devastated by the Mautam, a cyclic phenomenon where the flowering of bamboo plants result in a plague of crop-eating rats, in turn causing a famine. [6] [7]
Earlier in 1955, Mizo Cultural Society was formed, with Laldenga as its secretary. In March 1960, the name of the Mizo Cultural Society was changed to 'Mautam Front'. [8] During the famine of 1959–1960, this society took lead in demanding relief and attracted the attention of all sections of the people. In September 1960, the Society adopted the name Mizo National Famine Front (MNFF). [9] [10] The MNFF gained considerable popularity as a large number of Mizo Youth assisted in transporting rice and other essential commodities to interior villages. [11]
The MNFF, which was originally formed to help ease the immense sufferings of the people during the severe Mautam Famine in Mizoram, was converted into Mizo National Front (MNF) on 22 October 1961. [12] The first OB leaders elected were, President Laldenga, Vice President JF Manliana, General Secy. R. Vanlawma, and Treasurer Rochhinga and the ways in which the Indian authority of the day handled the famine left the people disillusioned. The wave of secessionist and armed insurrection was running high among the Mizos. In 1966, MNF led a major uprising against the government, but failed to gain administrative control of the Mizo district. [10] The secessionist movement held on for about two decades. During that time, they invaded Burma claiming Chin State and Tahan belong to Mizoram since most of the resident in Tahan are Mizo. [13] [14]
This chapter of insurgency finally came to a close with the signing of the Mizoram Accord on 30 June 1986 between the underground government of the Mizo National Front and the Government of India. Under the terms of the peace accord, Mizoram was granted statehood in February 1987. [15]
After the 1987 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, Laldenga became Chief Minister, but soon lost power due to defections in the party. [12] In the resulting election, the Congress won, and the MNF would be in opposition until 1998. In 1990, Laldenga died, and was replaced by his former secretary and Finance Minister, Zoramthanga. In 1998 and 2003 MNF won the state assembly elections, and Zoramthanga was chief minister for 10 years. [16] In the 2003 elections MNF won 21 out of 40 seats in the state assembly, and got 132 505 votes (31.66%). [17] The party was routed by the Congress in the 2008 state election, winning just 3 seats. [18] It contested the 2013 state elections in alliance with the Mizoram People's Conference, and won 5 seats to the Congress's 34. [5] In the 2018 state assembly elections, the MNF won 26 seats and returned to government. [19] The party lost power to the Zoram People's Movement during the 2023 state assembly elections.
For the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it formed an alliance called United Democratic Front with seven other parties including BJP, to contest the only seat in Mizoram. [20] The MNF has been part of the National Democratic Alliance since 2014 [21] [22] till 2023.
Year | Party leader | Seats won | Change in seats | Vote % | Vote swing | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Laldenga | 24 / 40 | 24 | 43.31% | New | Government |
1989 | 14 / 40 | 10 | 35.29% | 8.02% | Opposition | |
1993 | Zoramthanga | 14 / 40 | 40.41% | 5.12% | Opposition | |
1998 | 21 / 40 | 7 | 24.99% | 15.42% | Government | |
2003 | 21 / 40 | 31.69% | 6.70% | Government | ||
2008 | 3 / 40 | 18 | 30.65% | 1.04% | Others | |
2013 | 5 / 40 | 2 | 28.65% | 2.00% | Opposition | |
2018 | 26 / 40 | 21 | 37.70% | 9.05% | Government | |
2023 | 10 / 40 | 16 | 35.10% | 2.6% | Opposition |
Name | Tenure | Length |
---|---|---|
Laldenga | 21 August 1986 – 7 September 1988 | 2 years, 17 days |
Zoramthanga | 3 December 1998 – 4 December 2003 | 15 years, 0 days |
4 December 2003 – 11 December 2008 | ||
15 December 2018 – 5 December 2023 |
As of the latest party election in 2019, the officers are: [23]
Position | Officer |
---|---|
President | Zoramthanga |
Senior Vice President | Tawnluia |
Vice Presidents | Vanlalzawma and Lalthlengliana |
Treasurer | K. Vanlalauva |
Zoram Nationalist Party is a political party in Mizoram, India. The party was formerly known as Mizo National Front (Nationalist). It was founded by former MP Lalduhoma. MNF(N) was formed in 1997 through a split in the Mizo National Front.
Mizoram Secular Alliance (MSA), formerly known as Mizoram Secular Force (MSF) is a political alliance in Mizoram. It was launched ahead of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. MSA comprised Indian National Congress, Mizoram People's Conference and Zoram Nationalist Party.
The Mizoram People's Conference is a regional political party in Mizoram, India. It was formed by Brig Thenphunga Sailo on 17 April 1975. Ṭhenphunga was the party chairman and Chief Minister of Mizoram from 1979 to 1984, and an army officer and then a human rights activist before starting his political party.
The history of Mizoram encompasses the history of Mizoram which lies in the southernmost part of northeast India. It is a conglomerate history of several ethnic groups of Chin people who migrated from Chin State of Burma. But information of their patterns of westward migration are based on oral history and archaeological inferences, hence nothing definite can be said. The recorded history started relatively recently around the mid-19th century when the adjoining regions were occupied by the British monarchy. Following religious, political and cultural revolutions in the mid-20th century majority of the people agglomerated into a super tribe, Mizo. Hence the officially recognised settlement of the Mizos became Mizoram.
Laldenga was a Mizo separatist and politician from Mizoram in northeast India. He was the founder of the Mizo National Front, a social organisation turned political party. He was the first Chief Minister of Mizoram as a federated state, the office of which he held from 1986 to 1988.
Lalduhoma is an Indian politician who serves as the 6th Chief Minister of Mizoram since 8 December 2023. Formerly an Indian Police Service officer, he resigned from the security service to the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and was elected as Member of Parliament to the Lok Sabha from Mizoram and President of the Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee in 1984. He however left the party from which he was elected two years later, for which he was disqualified from the Parliament. He became the first MP in India to be discharged based upon its anti-defection law.
Brigadier Ṭhenphunga Sailo, AVSM (1922–2015) was an Indian military officer and politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Mizoram. He founded the Mizoram People's Conference, one of the major political parties in Mizoram. He was a recipient of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Padma Shri for his military service and humanitarian works, and the Mizo Award for his lifetime achievements.
Vanglaini is a daily newspaper in Mizoram, northeast India, published in the Mizo language. It is registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India. It is owned, edited, and published by K. Sapdanga. It remains the newspaper in Mizoram with the largest circulation.
The Mizo National Front uprising was a revolt against the government of India aimed at establishing a sovereign nation state for the Mizo people, which started on 28 February 1966. On 1 March 1966, the Mizo National Front (MNF) made a declaration of independence, after launching coordinated attacks on the Government offices and security forces post in different parts of the Mizo district in Assam. The government retaliated and recaptured all the places seized by the MNF by 25 March 1966.
Politics in Mizoram, a state in Northeast India had been dominated by the Mizo National Front and the Indian National Congress. As of 2024, the Zoram People's Movement is the ruling party in the states's legislative assembly.
The Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, 2013 was held on 25 November 2013 in all 40 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly of Mizoram. Results were declared on 9 December. The main contest was between incumbent the Indian National Congress and the Mizo National Front led Mizoram Democratic Alliance. Incumbent Chief Minister Pu Lalthanhawla and his party Indian National Congress won a majority and continued in government.
Zoramthanga is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Mizoram from 1998 to 2008 and 2018 to 2023. He is also the president of Mizo National Front (MNF) party. He represents the Aizawl East I constituency in the Mizoram Legislative Assembly since 2018 and Champhai constituency from 1998 to 2008.
The North-East Democratic Alliance is a political coalition that was formed on May 24, 2016, by Bharatiya Janata Party. The motive of the new political front was to unite non-Congress parties in Northeast India. Himanta Biswa Sarma was appointed as the convenor of the front.
The Mizoram Peace Accord, 1986 was an official agreement between the Government of India and the Mizo National Front (MNF) to end insurgency and violence in Mizoram, India, that started in 1966. The Mizo National Front was an organisation of Mizo secessionists led by Laldenga to fight for independence from India. The movement was basically due to lack of support from the government during the great famine in Mizoram in the late 1950s. Political insurgency and social unrest ensued in the next decades. After a number of negotiations, the document titled Mizoram Accord, 1986: Memorandum of Settlement was finally signed on 30 June 1986. It was signed by Laldenga for MNF, R.D. Pradhan, Home Secretary, Government of India, and Lalkhama, Chief Secretary, Government of Mizoram. It is remarked as the most and only successful peace agreement in India after its independence from British Empire in 1947.
The Zoram People's Movement is an alliance of six regional parties formed under the leadership of MLA and former IPS Officer Lalduhoma. The party advocates for secularism and the protection of religious minorities in India. In the 2023 Mizoram Assembly polls, the party won 27 seats out of 40 seats and Lalduhoma became the Chief Minister of Mizoram.
R Lalzirliana is a Mizo National Front politician from Mizoram. He was the minister for power and electricity, art and culture, land resources, soil and water conservation and district council affairs departments of Mizoram.
Tawnluia is an Indian politician from Mizo National Front. He was the second Deputy Chief Minister of Mizoram.
Legislative Assembly elections were held in Mizoram on 7 November 2023 to elect all 40 members of Mizoram Legislative Assembly, which had 174 candidates and saw 80.66% voter turnout. The votes were counted on 4 December 2023 which showed the Zoram People's Movement's victory winning 27 seats out of 40.
Elections to the Mizoram Legislative Assembly were held in November 1998 to elect members of the 40 constituencies in Mizoram, India. The Mizo National Front won the most seats and formed a coalition with Mizoram People's Conference, but the coalition did not last long as MNF had gained enough seats to form a government on their own. The leader of MNF, Zoramthanga was appointed as the Chief Minister of Mizoram. The Indian National Congress won the popular vote. Zoramthanga had become the leader of the Mizo National Front in 1990, after the death of its previous leader, Laldenga.
Ramthanmawia is an Indian politician from Mizoram. He is an MLA from East Tuipui Assembly constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes community, in Champhai District. He won the 2023 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, representing the Mizo National Front.