Mizoram elections: The issue that split BJP and MNF, spurred Congress

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

MNF) while galvanising the opposition Congress party — the recent riots in the neighbouring Manipur. The Manipur ethnic clashes will have serious ramifications in the Mizoram polls.
Around 13,000 people from Manipur have taken shelter in Mizoram.

These people, belonging to the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar community, share the same ethnicity as the people of Mizoram as well as the same religion, Christianity. The riots have reconfigured the political equations in Mizoram and now are one of the biggest issues in the polls. Christians comprise nearly 87% of the population in Mizoram.

The issue that split the allies The Manipur issue has driven a wedge between the MNF and the BJP.

The MNF, which is allied with the BJP's Northeast Democratic Alliance as well as part of the NDA at the Centre, won the elections in 2018 elections, bagging 27 seats while the Congress was able to win five and the BJP and the TMC bagged one each.
The MNF faces anti-incumbency as many think it failed to deliver on the development front. A new party, the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), is gaining popularity especially in urban areas, where it is trying to build a narrative of change the state needs.

Of late, the MNF has started distancing itself from the BJP, as it increasingly relies on Mizo nationalist sentiment. It used to be a militant outfit before it turned into a political party after the Mizo peace accord in 1987. Zoramthanga, the Chief Minister and the head of MNF, has ratcheted up the Mizo nationalist sentiment in recent times.