The Mizoram National Front (MNF), led by Chief Minister Zoramthanga, is trailing behind in the initial trends as votes are being counted for the Assembly polls held on November 7. The Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), an alliance of six parties, has taken the lead in early trends, leading on 26 Assembly seats out of the 40-member Assembly. The MNF is currently leading on nine seats, while the BJP and Congress are leading on two and one seat respectively.
In a surprising turn of events, Chief Minister Zoramthanga lost the election from the Aizawl East-1 constituency, and his deputy Tawnluia also suffered defeat in Tuichang.
During the election, the MNF, ZPM, and Congress contested 40 seats each, while the BJP fielded candidates in 13 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), participating in the assembly polls in Mizoram for the first time, contested four seats. Additionally, there were 17 independent candidates.
Some exit polls predicted a clean sweep by the ZPM, while others indicated a hung assembly with no party gaining a clear majority.
In the previous assembly election in 2018, the MNF won 26 seats, the ZPM secured eight seats, and the Congress managed to win five seats, relegating them to the third position. The BJP won one seat.
Zoramthanga’s party has positioned him as the “guardian of the Chin-Kuki-Zo tribes,” although his rivals and other parties, such as the BJP, have accused him of corruption, failing to address rising unemployment and drug trafficking, and inadequate infrastructure.
Despite being an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Zoramthanga, citing kinship and familial ties with the Chin-Kuki tribes in Myanmar, openly provided shelter to around 40,000 refugees who fled from the junta rule in the neighboring country.
Lalduhoma, the chief of ZPM, stated that people are tired of the MNF and desire a change in governance to combat corruption. Elaborate arrangements have been made for the vote counting process. The counting was initially scheduled to take place on the same day as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, but it was postponed to the following day due to appeals from political parties, churches, and student bodies as Sunday is a day for prayers in the Christian-majority state.
In constituencies with a smaller number of voters, only two rounds of counting will be conducted, but in most constituencies, five rounds will be counted.
