Aizawl, Sep 14 (PTI)) Mizoram Home Minister and ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) leader K Sapdanga on Monday said party unity, grassroots mobilisation and continued public and church support are crucial to retaining power.
Addressing a party meeting at the ZPM office here, Sapdanga said that the party had about two years to prepare for the next Assembly polls, expected around November 2028, and asked party leaders and workers to assess whether the organisation would grow stronger or lose ground during the period.
“Party leaders and workers are the most important. The contestants are the political parties, and our performance will be reflected in our words and actions. But the people will once again be the ones who give the marks,” he said.
Sapdanga attributed the ZPM’s victory in the 2023 election to unity between the party headquarters, blocks, units, women and youth wings, besides extensive political and poll-day training and grassroots mobilisation.
He also stressed the importance of churches and public opinion in determining the party’s political fortunes, saying the churches remained a mirror through which the functioning of the party and government could be assessed.
He warned party workers against the misuse of information technology, saying leaks of confidential discussions within party committees could become a major weakness for the ruling party.
“If we do not use technology carefully, it could become a factor that weakens us. One of our sources of strength could turn into a source of weakness,” he said.
Highlighting the government’s performance, Sapdanga, who also holds the Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation portfolio, said that roads and drainage channels in Aizawl are being improved and properly developed, the highway connecting Mizoram with the rest of the country is being expanded to four lanes, government job recruitment has become transparent, the universal healthcare scheme is being implemented successfully and people are now receiving full quantities or the correct weight of their rice ration.
He claimed that around 3,365 proxy or substitutes hired by government employees on their behalf had been removed through due process.
“Cooperation between the government and voluntary organisations has improved. Smuggling of Burmese areca nuts has also reduced considerably. We have made significant progress in tourism. More and more outsiders are discovering the attractive places in Mizoram, and tourism is likely to become one of the important avenues for generating income for the state,” he said.
“We are also working to make taxi fares more reasonable and useful for tourists. People will gradually learn to use the system effectively. There may still be shortcomings, but we will continue to learn and improve,” he said.
Sapdanga also pointed to progress in local entrepreneurship, handicrafts, flower production, waste management and municipal administration under the ZPM administration.
He said the government’s efforts were being reflected in people’s daily lives rather than remaining merely announcements. PTI CORR RG
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