Aizawl, Sep 13 (PTI): Mizoram’s ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) will soon get a new chief, with Home Minister K Sapdanga on Monday hinting at the possibility of Chief Minister Lalduhoma becoming the party president.
Addressing an internal party meeting here, Sapdanga said the ZPM was preparing to change its leadership structure and would soon have a new president.
He said the party was holding frequent discussions on “new leadership” and carefully examining the issue as it prepares for the 2028 Assembly polls.
Lalliansawta is the current president of the ZPM.
Although the elected office-bearers’ term is due to end next year, the party has decided to cut it short as its leaders, particularly Lalliansawta and senior vice-president W Chhuanawma, have health issues, a party leader said.
In April, Chhuanawma had requested leave from his position in the party, citing persistent health concerns. Subsequently, the party appointed Hrangturzo constituency MLA Lalmuanpuia Punte as vice-president to fill the gap.
“We are holding frequent meetings to decide on a new leadership, and we have been holding frequent meetings. We are working together to determine what is best for the party and the government, and we have reached fairly good conclusions,” Sapdanga said while addressing party workers.
He said a distinctive feature of the ZPM is that it has a separate party leader who is not the party president, and noted that there were both advantages and disadvantages to having a chief minister simultaneously serve as party president.
“We have already experimented with a system in which the Zoram People’s Movement did not simultaneously become the party president. We will now experiment with combining or assigning the two posts to one person,” Sapdanga said.
Recently, a meeting of the ZPM executive committee approved a proposal allowing the chief minister to simultaneously hold an elected office-bearer post in the party.
The meeting amended Clause 1 of Article 21 of the party constitution, which previously prohibited ministers from holding elected office-bearer positions in the organisation.
With the amendment, the CM can now hold an elected office-bearer position in the ZPM while continuing to serve as the head of the government.
The relaxation, however, does not extend to other ministers as they will continue to be barred from holding elected office-bearer posts in the party under the existing rules.
