An umbrella body of civil society groups in Mizoram said it will boycott the Lok Sabha elections if Bru refugees living in neighbouring Tripura are allowed to vote from designated booths along the state border, instead of letting them visit Mizoram to vote at regular camps.
The NGO coordination committee on Monday called a bandh on April 8. This decision came after the Election Commission decided to make special arrangements to allow Bur refugees of Mizoram, who live at camps in northern Tripura, to vote at special booths along the Tripura-Mizoram border.
Mizoram has one Lok Sabha seat and polling will take place in the first phase on April 11.
Last year, before the Mizoram assembly polls, the civil society groups had protested against the Election Commission over the same issue. The then chief electoral officer of Mizoram SB Shashank had decided to allow the Bru refugees to vote from camps in Tripura.