India: Lalduhoma sworn in as Mizoram's new chief minister

The Zoram People’s Movement leader Lalduhoma was sworn in as the new chief minister of the northeast Indian state of Mizoram on Friday (Dec 8).

The day holds significance and defies the usual norm as Lalduhoma is the first-ever Chief Minister who is not from the Mizo National Front (MNF) or the Congress.

Evolving from an activist group to a political party ahead of the 2018 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, the Zoram People's Movement emerged victorious in the recently-held state elections where they secured a win on 27 out of 40 seats.

Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati administered the oath to the 73-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician at the Raj Bhavan complex in the capital city of Aizawl. Other ministers were also sworn in.

Lalduhoma is a former IPS officer and was the security-in-charge of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.He left the security service to the former PM in 1984. In the same year, he joined hands with the Congress and was elected as a Member of Parliament to the Lok Sabha from Mizoram.

Before ZPM took shape, the leader was elected as MLA in 2003 from Zoram Nationalist Party, who he founded.

ZPM's K. Sapdanga, who won the Aizawl North-III constituency in the state elections, was elected as the deputy leader of the ZPM Legislative Party.

The leader was at the centre of a political upheaval when he got disqualified twice under the anti-defection law as a lawmaker.In the 2018 polls, Lalduhoma got elected as an Independent MLA. By this time, ZPM had not gained recognition from Election Commission of India(ECI). That changed in 2019 when ZPM got its recognition as a political party by the election body.

(With inputs from agencies)