Aizawl, Feb 3: BJP leader Molin Kumar Chakma will be sworn in as the chief executive member (CEM) of the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) in Mizoram on Tuesday, a party leader said.
BJP leader Durjya Dhan Chakma said that the oath-taking ceremony will be held at the CADC headquarters in Kamalanagar at noon on Tuesday.
Lawngtlai district Additional Deputy Commissioner Zoramsiama Hmar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Molin Kumar Chakma as Deputy Commissioner Cheemala Siva Gopal Reddy is currently out of station, he said.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Molin Kumar Chakma will announce the names of executive members and submit a list to the governor for his approval, he said.
This is for the first time in the history of the CADC that BJP is ruling the council with an absolute majority, Durjya Dhan Chakma said.
The CADC witnessed a stalemate after the removal of the Mizo National Front (MNF) government headed by former CEM Rasik Mohan Chakma through a no-confidence motion moved in the council’s session on December 11.
Subsequently, eight MNF members defected to the BJP and another five members, including the council chairman Mohan Chakma, joined the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM).
After the defections, ZPM had 10 members, BJP nine and MNF one, with none having the majority to form the executive body.
On December 16, 10 ZPM members led by their legislature party leader Mohan Chakma met the then Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and submitted a letter asserting their majority in the council.
However, subsequently, four ZPM members joined the BJP, raising the party’s tally from nine to 13.
Eleven seats are required to form an executive body in the 20-member council.
Molin Kumar Chakma, who staked claim to form the next government in the CADC on December 23 last year, was appointed as the CEM by Governor Vijay Kumar Singh with effect from January 28, according to a notification issued by state District Council and Minority Affairs Secretary Sangchhin Chinzah on January 31.
The MNF, which initially secured 10 seats in the May 9, 2023 elections and gained support from four members of the district council (MDCs), has now been reduced to a single member, Rasik Mohan Chakma, while the ZPM now has six members. (PTI)
