Aizawl: A BJP candidate for the upcoming Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) elections was killed ahead of the polls and six others were injured in a clash in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district.
The victim, Amit Kumar Chakma, was campaigning for the CADC polls at Lokhisury village when he was allegedly attacked by some miscreants with a machete on Thursday night.
Notably, the 11th Chakma Autonomous District Council polls are scheduled to be held on May 9.
Chakma, who was contesting on a BJP ticket from the Rengkhashya seat in the CADC election, died on the spot, a senior official said.
Amit Kumar Chakma was an official BJP candidate from 15-Rangkashya constituency. He was formerly a member of the Indian National Congress and had won two elections as a Congress candidate. After switching over to Mizo National Front (MNF), Chakma had recently joined the BJP.
On April 20, Buddha Dhan Chakma, MLA, posted a welcome message saying @BjpCadc heartily welcomes veteran politician Amit Kumar Chakma, MDC(MNF) to @BJP4India. On joining BJP, Amit Kumar Chakma had expressed his reasons for resigning from MNF, stating “that the party’s biased decision-making and lack of vision for the future led him to make this decision.”
One person has been arrested in connection with the incident, the official said.
Meanwhile, BD Chakma, the lone BJP MLA in the state, has demanded a probe into the incident.
“I am deeply shocked to hear the demise of Amit Kumar Chakma, BJP official MDC candidate from Rengkashya constituency in a brutal attack by some miscreants last night when he was on election campaign at Lokhisury village. I strongly demand prompt investigations and arrest of the culprits,” BD Chakma said on his official Facebook page.
“The main issue here is that MNF has become frustrated and they have lost all their sense of humanity,” BJP Mizoram state President Vanlalhmuaka told EastMojo. “Amit Kumar is a very nice person. His sign of success was 100% and that is why his opponent created a problem here in this area. It is very unfortunate for us,” he said.
Speaking of the incident, the BJP President said, “The CADC poll is an MNF vs BJP fight. MNF party workers had created some problems after a BJP meeting. They returned home after seeing that they were on the losing side. When our candidate Amit Kumar went to resolve the issue, they attacked him.”
The state BJP President said, “MNF party members are trying to distribute money but we have appointed people to stop this. In other places, during elections, there used to be deployment of forces but this time I travelled to almost ten villages and did not find police anywhere. I was already fearing that such kind of incident might happen as there is a lot of tension. There was total negligence on the part of the state government.”
Various BJP leaders from the state shared their sentiments on social media platforms. MS Tluanga, State General Secretary, BJP Mizoram said, “Political or apolitical killings can never be justified on any grounds. The cold-blooded murder of Amit Kumar Chakma, Official BJP Candidate from 14-Rengkashya Constituency to the 11th CADC General Elections, 2023 is tragic in a peaceful state like Mizoram. While our brothers and sisters in our neighboring state of Manipur are suffering due to violence, let us pray for peace. Political violence of this kind cannot be tolerated by the public in Mizoram. A thorough judicial inquiry must be conducted and the guilty need to be brought to book in order to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Mmhonlumo Kikon, BJP National Spokesperson and Mizoram Prabhari also commented on the incident on Twitter saying, “I strongly condemn the cold-blooded murder of Shri Amit Kumar Chakma, Official BJP Candidate from 14-Rengkashya Constituency to the 11th CADC Elections, 2023. This is unheard of in Mizoram. I urge upon the state police & administration to take immediate action against the perpetrators. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family! @BJP4Mizoram has lost a tall leader. I urge @ZoramthangaCM ji to take all necessary steps to ensure the protection of the candidates in the CADC elections.” Kikon reached Aizawl on hearing of the incident.”
The Central Young Chakma Association issued a statement on the incident stating, “Extremely shocked by learning the sad demise of Amit Kumar Chakma, former CEM, CADC due to an attack on him by some miscreants last night. The incident is quite disturbing and condemnable. The CYCA demands a proper and immediate investigation into this incident and stern actions need to be taken against the culprits as per law.”
They urged the stakeholders to refrain from alcohol consumption saying, “CYCA urges all the stakeholders to not to resort towards consumption of liquor and other intoxicants during the electioneering process so that the election is conducted smoothly in a free and fair manner. India is known to the world about its beauty of being the world’s largest democracy. To support this stand, elections are being held to every level of government in every five years, in which people of every walk of lives have the liberty to elect or be elected to serve the nation and its people. Hence, elections should not be taken as a tool of revenge and barbarism. Rather, it is an opportunity for everyone to elect good leadership or serve the country and its people by being elected.”
They further appealed to the District Election Officer to impose restrictions on election campaign during night time from 8 pm to 5 am. “We like to appeal before you to kindly impose restriction on election campaign at night from 8 PM to 5 AM. Further, it is also suggested that gathering at night with more than two persons shall be restricted,” they wrote in a letter addressed to the officer.
The State Election Commission published the final rolls for the Chakma Council on April 5. There are 35,885 voters, including 17,677 women. Of the 20 constituencies, Kamalanagar ‘N’ has the highest number of voters at 3,533, while the Fultuli constituency has the least number of voters at 1,305. There are 70 polling stations within the council.
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A total of 73 candidates are in the fray for the Chakma council polls to be held on May 9. The counting of votes will be undertaken on May 11. The MNF, BJP and Congress have fielded 20 candidates each, while the ZPM fielded 13 candidates.
The CADC was created under the sixth schedule of the constitution in 1972 for the welfare of the Chakma tribal people in Mizoram.
The council has 24 seats, of which 4 are nominated seats.
The council is under the Governor’s rule since December last year.
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