Mizoram records 12.80 pc voter turnout till 9 am

AIZAWL: Mizoram recorded 12.80 pc voter turnout till 9 am as voting kicked off in the Northeastern state from 7 am, the Election Commission of India stated. Voting for the 40-member state assembly is slated to go on till 3 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled on December 3.

Mizoram being a literate state usually witnesses high voter turnouts. In 2018, the total voter turnout was 84.9 per cent with a total of 6,28,608 votes polled. Mizoram is the only poll-bound state where the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are not the primary contenders. In the 2018 assembly elections, the Mizo National Front (MNF) secured 26 seats with a vote share of 37.8 per cent and emerged victorious defeating the 10-year-old Congress government.

The Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM), the regional party that surprisingly came second in the 2018 polls bagged eight seats. It is seen by many as the main contender to the ruling party. The Congress bagged five seats in the 2018 assembly polls while the BJP got one, securing its first seat in the North-eastern state. In these elections, the President of the Mizo National Front (MNF and Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, is seeking re-election from Aizawl East - I.

The Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), positioning itself as the primary challenger in this election, has nominated their party vice president, Lalthansanga, as a contender against the three-time Chief Minister.

ZPM chief Lalduhoma, who is also the party's chief ministerial candidate, will be contesting from Serchhip, where he is the present MLA. Another key contender in the Mizoram polls is state Congress chief Lalsawta, who will contest from Aizawl West-III. Lalsawta is up against ZPM candidate VL Zaithanzama and MNF's Sawmvela.

Lalsawta won the state elections in 2008 and 2013 from Aizawl East II. However, he lost the seat to MNF in 2018.