Aizwal, April 26: In a rare move, elected members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress have joined hands to run Mizoram's Chakma tribal council. Local Congress leaders initiated the move with the motive to keep the opposition Mizo National Front, or MNF, out of power.

No party gained the majority in this month's elections to the Chakma Autonomous District Council. The council was set up in 1972 for the Buddhist tribal community to govern themselves. The ruling Congress managed to win only six seats in the 20-member council, whereas the BJP won five seats. The Mizo National Front (MNF), a member of BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance, was the largest party in the council, with eight seats.

BJP President Amit Shah even congratulated BJP-MNF alliance on Tuesday,  unaware of this unprecedented move.

Mizoram is the only North-east state of India where the Congress is in power. The State elections are scheduled later tis year, and BJP will be letting no stone unturned to prevent the Congress from coming to the power.

The council has jurisdiction over 650 square Km. It is home to around 45,000 people, that form almost half of the state’s Chakma population.

As part of the deal, BJP leaders were given the council's chairman's post, while the Congress leaders settled for the deputy's post. BJP's Santi Jiban Chakma is set to become the Chief Executive Member of the council. According to a Congress leader, elected members from the two sides had already formed a joint legislature party. A BJP leader in Aizwal told NDTV that the party was shocked that how Congress leaders persuaded BJP leaders to switch sides.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2018 12:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).