Sihhmui (Mizoram) It is a Saturday morning, and the hint of an early winter chill is in the air. Fifty-two-year-old Thangtei is working frenetically, pounding rice in a wooden mortar with a pestle. Around her are tittering children, and just behind her, is a bamboo and tin hut she has called home for the past five months. There are rows and rows of such homes next to a gravel road sin Sihhmui, approximately 25km from Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, which goes to assembly polls on November 7.

But herein lies the dichotomy of Thangtei’s life and Mizoram’s elections. Thangtei cares little about the votes or candidates; she is not a voter in India, and is one of the 33,500 refugees from Myanmar settled in Mizoram after crossing the border over the past year to escape the violence after a military coup. Her only concern is running water, food, and other essentials. Yet, her situation — and that of the internally displaced who have entered the state from strife-torn Manipur — is now Mizoram’s most burning election issues.

Voting for the Mizoram assembly is slated on November 7 with the ruling Mizo National Front, and opposition parties Congress and Zoram People’s Movement (ZPF) contesting all seats, and the BJP fielding candidates in 23 of the 40 seats. In 2018, the MNF claimed power with 26 seats, with the ZPM winning eight, the Congress five, and the BJP one.

Thangtei waves away any questions about the impending elections. “I miss the rice that we used to eat back in Matupi, our town in the Chin state of Myanmar. The rice we get here doesn’t taste as nice.”

Life in the camps There are 68 families from Myanmar that live in Sihhmui, all with the same distressing story. Afraid for their families, they walked on foot for five days to reach the Indian border, crossed over, and were shifted to the camp after the village council gave them a plot of land. There is no electricity or water, and their only resource is a river nearby that the residents say is dirty. There is some help from the state government, NGOs and church bodies, and locals often pitch in with rice, or pulses. “Most of the men work in neighbouring farms as labourers for ₹500 a day. But work is only available for 2-3 days in the week,” said Khawthang, 32, who lives at the camp with his wife and two children.

Forty-three-year-old Awmpuia is grateful for the refuge, but is clear that going back home one day is the objective. “Our children are admitted to local schools. We face a lot of problems in managing our daily needs, money and medicines. We have no idea what happened to our homes and land in Myanmar, but if peace returns, we want to go back,” he said.

About 37km away from Sihhmui, there is another set of displaced people attempting to adjust to their new life, in the Falklands locality on the outskirts of Aizawl. But unlike those from Myanmar, these families are among the 13,000 people from Manipur. According to state government records, more than 4,500 of these refugees are based in Aizawl.

In this particular shelter, there are 57 families, all Kuki-Zomi, that have been living for several months at a state government-provided housing complex. They do have access to electricity and water, but fear for the condition of their homes in Manipur. “Most of these families that live here in Falklands are from Sugnu in Chandel district of Manipur. We fled our homes on May 28 after our homes were looted and torched by armed miscreants. We got these homes several weeks after arriving in Mizoram,” said John Zo, a pastor.

Mizo ethno- nationalismThe residents of both Sihhmui and Falklands will not vote in the elections to the 40 assembly seats in Mizoram slated for November 7, but form the kernel of one of the most burning electoral issues in the state. For, the Kuki-Zomis of Manipur and the Chin people from Myanmar share both ethnic and social ties with the Mizos. It is unsurprising then that the ruling MNF has positioned itself as the only party concerned about the displaced. Chief minister Zoramthanga has said repeatedly that his image as an upholder of Mizo ethno-nationalism will help his party retain power.

In September 2022, Zoramthanga refused to follow a Union government directive to push back refugees from Myanmar, and then ignored another directive from Delhi last month directing Mizoram to collect biometric details of Myamarese nationals residing in the state. “Collection of biometric and biographic data of Myanmar refugees would amount to discrimination against people who are our blood and kindred brothers and sisters,” the CM said in September 2023.

In an interview with BBC earlier this month, Zoramthanga went as far as saying that he would not share the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he campaigned in Mizoram, aggrieved at the violence in Manipur, which is ruled by the BJP. This despite the fact that the MNF is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre and the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) in the region. “To have sympathy with the BJP at this time will be a big minus point for my party,” Zoramthanga said. To be sure, the BJP is not part of the MNF government in Mizoram, and there is no alliance ahead of the upcoming polls.

Opposition parties have, however, said that the ties between the MNF and the BJP mean that the ruling party in Mizoram cannot separate itself from the violence in Manipur. “The governments in Manipur and the Centre are led by the BJP, and people in Mizoram are unhappy with the way the crisis in that state has been handled. There’s disappointment about the long silence of the PM on this. Since the MNF is also part of the NDA, it will have an adverse effect on them. People who have taken shelter in Mizoram are our brothers and sisters and we stand with them,” said Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM) president Lalduhoma.

Status: It’s complicated Experts said that the deep ties between ethnic groups across state and national borders could decide the fate of the MNF. J Doungel, professor of political science at the Mizoram University, said, “The rest of India needs to understand that Chins of Myanmar may be citizens of another country, but Mizos think of them as their own kinsmen. The political boundaries between nations cannot break the ethnic ties that have lasted centuries or more. Though all parties and groups in Mizoram support giving shelter to refugees and displaced, both from Myanmar and Manipur, their efforts could result in a benefit for the MNF.

TT Haokip, a professor of political science at the North Eastern Hill University in Shillong, said that with all other parties, church bodies and civil society groups in favour of supporting the refugees, the issue would likely hurt the BJP the most. “Since the BJP is in power in Manipur and there’s resentment in Mizoram on the crisis in that state, the party may not be able to garner much support in this election,” Haokip said.

But in the centre of Aizawl, Lalthangliana, a businessman from the city however has a word of caution. “It is okay for the government to give temporary shelter to refugees from Myanmar. However, hey should be sent back as soon as situation in the neighbouring country improves. There have been instances of Myanmar refugees indulging in crimes and the government should ensure they are kept under strict surveillance,” he said.

Meanwhile, A Chhunthang, a tour operator in Aizawl, said that it was good to have Kuki-Zps from Manipur taking shelter in their state. “They have had a harrowing time that forced them to flee. The issue will affect the BJP and might even hurt the MNF since its part of NDA at Centre,” he said.

The two opinions again gave a glimpse of how complicated the issue is for the locals this poll season.