Displaced Brus shall have to vote in Mizoram: EC

Aizawl, November 22, 2018:

The Election Commission (EC) has made it clear that the displaced Brus (Reangs), lodged in six relief camps in Tripura, can cast their votes only inside Mizoram.

The EC said the Tripura government would make all arrangements for their travel to and fro Mamit district in Mizoram on November 28, the day Mizoram goes to elections.

Mizoram’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashish Kundra said the refugees would vote in 15 polling stations at Kahnmun in Mamit district which shares a border with Tripura.

Currently, over 32,000 Brus are lodged in the camps. Of them, 12,014 are voters of Mizoram. Their votes will be cast in favour of candidates in nine constituencies.

Twenty one years ago during ethnic clashes between the Brus and the Mizos, over 40,000 Brus had fled to Tripura. In all the subsequent elections, they had cast their votes at the relief camps in the presence of Mizoram’s election department officials.

This year, however, some influential Mizo organisations protested the practice. They insisted that since the displaced Brus are voters of Mizoram, they should come to the state to exercise their franchise. Later, the EC gave in to the demand.

The Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples’ Coordination Committee (MBDPCC) said it was not sure how many of the refugees would go to Mizoram to take part in voting.

“We wanted the refugees, as in the past elections, should be allowed to cast their votes in the relief camps. We feel only a section of them will go to Mizoram,” MBDPCC president Laldingliana said.

Kundra said the refugees would stand to lose if they do not go to Mizoram to participate in voting.

Meanwhile, as the day of polling nears, the BJP has stepped up its campaign in areas where the Brus, and also the Chakmas, are in a majority. BJP leaders Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh have already addressed rallies in these areas. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address another.