In a first, BJP forms Christian Missionary wing in Mizoram

The cell will run a 24X7 helpline for Mizoram missionaries

AIZAWL, JULY 25 (IANS) – To diminish its anti-Christian tag, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set up the country's first Christian Missionary wing in Mizoram, where the saffron party has one MLA in the 40-member House, party leaders said on Thursday.

Mizoram BJP President J.V. Hluna said a five-member committee of Christian Missionary wing was formed with Hriata Chhangte as Chairman and Julie Vanpari as Secretary.

Hluna said: "The Christian wing was formed as some political parties and churches are accusing the BJP to be an anti-Christian party."

The Christian Missionary wing was formally opened on Wednesday.

"Initially we will start social activities for the cause of Mizos and gradually expand our activities," the 54-year-old mining engineer-turned-politician told IANS.

Chhangte said that occasionally Mizo people were harassed in different parts of the country when they went for studies, professional work, medical treatment and other purposes. This missionary wing will help address such grievances.

The Christian Missionary wing will have a 24X7 helpline.

"As I worked in many parts parts of the country as a central government official including in Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Assam, I feel that BJP is a most secular party."

Chhangte, who lost the Lok Sabha elections in Mizoram as an independent candidate, said: "That the BJP is anti-Christian is false, spread by the Congress because it did not want it to come to power in Mizoram".

Though the ruling Mizo National Front is a constituent of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), both the parties separately contested the Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls in the Christian dominated state.

With a population of 1,091,014 (according to the 2011 census), Mizoram is a closely knit society with a Christian majority (87 per cent).

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Modi wave takes BJP 8 to 14 seats in northeast, NDA tally 17

Agartala/Guwahati, 24 May 2019 — Powered by the "Modi wave", the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was alone set to win 14 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in eight northeastern states, against 8 in the 2014 polls. 

With three NDA constituents - the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) of Nagaland, the Mizo National Front (MNF) in Mizoram, the National People's Party (NPP) in Meghalaya - winning three seats, the tally of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would be 17 against 11 in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

On the other hand, the Congress, which had a strong base in all the northeastern states but currently no government under its rule in the region, had won or was set to win only four seats (three in Assam and one in Meghalaya) against eight in 2019.

The counting of votes, which started at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, was on till midnight in many of the region's 25 Lok Sabha seats.

In Assam, the ruling BJP had either won or was leading on in nine Lok Sabha seats, while the Congress won or was ahead three seats this time like in 2014, including Kaliabor which was won by former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav Gogoi. However, All India Women Congress President Sushmita Dev lost her Silchar seat to BJP's Rajdeep Roy.

The Assam-based All India United Democratic Front, which had won three seats last time, was leading in only one seat -- Dhubri -- where party supremo Badruddin Ajmal was in the fray. In the tribal-dominated Kokrajhar constituency, Independent sitting Lok Sabha member Naba Kumar Sarania is leading with a significant margin over Pramila Rani Brahma of Bodo Peoples' Front (BPF), an ally of BJP in Assam.

Like outgoing Lok Sabha, the two BJP allies, the BPF and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), would be no representation in the Lok Sabha this time too.

The ruling BJP set to win both the Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh -- Tapir Gao (Arunachal East) and Kiren Rijiju ((Arunachal West). The BJP wrested the Arunachal East from the Congress while the party retained the Arunachal West constituency.

The highest ever record margin of my win in Arunachal Pradesh is overwhelming! I'm touched by such love & blessings by the people of Arunachal Pradesh. I thank hon'ble PM @narendramodi ji for the visionary guidance who galvanized the mood & hope of the people.  - Kiren Rijiju (twitter page)

In its maiden victory in Tripura's Lok Sabha battle, the ruling BJP, which in alliance with the tribal Indigenous People's Front of Tripura, wrested power in the state in the 2018 Assembly polls, is on the verge of winning both the state's two seats.

In Manipur, both the Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur seats were wrested by the BJP's Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and Naga Peoples Front candidate Lorho S. Pfoze respectively from the Congress.

In Meghalaya, former Union Minister and National People's Party (NPP) candidate Agatha Sangma won the Tura Lok Sabha seat, while sitting Congress MP Vincent Pala retained the Shillong seat.

Sangma, the younger sister of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and daughter of former Lok Sabha Speaker late Purno Sangma, defeated her nearest rival and former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma of the Congress by a margin of 63,775 votes.

In Sikkim, putting up a stunning electoral performance, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) nominee Indra Hang Subba wrested state's lone Lok Sabha seat from ruling Sikkim Democratic Front defeating Dek Bahadur Katwal by a margin of 11,585 votes. [IANS]