In an attempt to expand its presence in Mizoram, which remains the only North-East state not ruled by the party or one of its allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has established a ‘Christian Missionary Cell’, which will be headed by Lalhriatrenga Chhangte, who had recently joined the party, reports Northeast Now.

Most people in Mizoram are christians, with Census 2011 data showing that around 87.16 per cent of the state’s population followed the religion. Hinduism is the third largest religion in the state at 2.75 per cent, behind Buddhism whose followers constitute 8.51 per cent of the population.

BJP had tried to woo Chhangte to stand on its ticket in the Lok Sabha elections which were conducted this year. However, he chose to stand as an independent but could not win.

He agreed to join the BJP, but with one of the main conditions being that a Christian Missionary Cell would be constituted by the party. He was officially made a member of the BJP on 12 July.

The missionary cell’s main aim will be to form a database which will include the names, contacts, and other details of all Christian missionaries in the state to offer assistance to them as per their needs.