Aizawl, 20 Sept (NNN): Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC), a four-decade-old party of the state, will merge with the newly floated People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM) party, a party leader said on Sunday.
PRISM president Vanlalruata said that both the parties have agreed to merge into a single party following several rounds of talks.
“Although the final merger agreement is yet to be signed, we have agreed it for the merger in principle and have more or less completed all formalities,” he said, adding that final agreement will likely be inked in the next round of talks to be held on Monday.
According to Vanlalruata, both the parties might forsake their names and get a new name after the merger.
Developed from a Human Right Committee, MPC is one of the oldest regional parties in Mizoram formed by former state chief minister Brigadier Thenphunga Sailo alias T. Sailo in 1975.
The party was initially called People’s Conference (PC)
The party won the state assembly polls in 1978 at a time when Mizoram was a Union Territory and its president T. Sailo became chief minister to be the second chief minister of Mizoram for six months until the Union Territory was declared under President’s rule.
In the next elections held in 1979, the party retained majority and once again Sailo became the chief minister and this time he served his full term till 1984.
The party lost to Congress led by former state chief minister Lal Thanhawla in 1984 assembly polls.
For the next two decades after its defeat in 1984 assembly polls, MPC had remained the main opposition in Mizoram.
However, the party, which preached for six basic needs of the state, including self sufficiency in food grains, suffered a setback in 1998 assembly polls.
In 1998, the party won 12 seats in the 40-member assembly, three seats in 2003 and two in 2008.
The 2013 assembly polls were the last journey of the MPC in state politics where the party secured only one seat with Sailo as the last party legislator.
The MPC failed to make much impact in Mizoram politics after its founder president Sailo died in 2015.
The party is currently headed by Thenphunga Sailo’s son Lalhmangaiha Sailo.
MPC was part of the 7- parties alliance known as Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) (Now political party) formed in 2017 ahead of the 2018 assembly polls.
However, the party snapped ties with them and withdrew from the ZPM coalition in July 2019.
As far as PRISM is concerned, it formerly served as an anti-corruption watchdog.
The organisation was registered as a political party in 2018 and had contested the last assembly polls (2018) but won no seats.
The party nominated former sailor TBC Lalvenchhunga in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and lost to ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) nominee C. Lalrosanga.
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Mizoram