Mizoram: "Biggest promise from us is corruption-free government" says ZPM

AIZAWL: On polling day, Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) candidate Lalnghinglova Hmar said that the biggest promise his party has made before the Mizoram electorate is a corruption-free government. "If the biggest of all the promises is fulfilled then the rest will fall in line. The biggest promise from our side is that of a corruption-free government," Hmar said speaking to ANI on voting day.

The ZPM candidate said that one of the poll promises made by his party is to strengthen the existing Lokayukta which presently exists "only for the namesake". "From our side, one of the poll promises is strengthening the existing Lokayukta. We have Lokayukta only for the namesake. It doesn't really have the manpower to work. If you want to fight corruption, you have to strengthen it," Hmar said.

Lalnghinglova Hmar also promised to bring in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the state which, he said, will be a "game-changer" in itself. "Secondly, we also promised that we will bring in CBI, that alone could be a game-changer. We always believe that if your government is corruption free you can do a lot. If you look at the size of the population and the size of the budget then if you have one powerful chief minister who is corruption free then definitely your state will grow," the ZPM candidate said.

Speaking about the possible number of seats his party is eyeing in the ongoing election, Hmar said, "I am looking at 25 seats, a minimum of 25 seats. I was thinking about looking at the reports coming in. I was hopeful of getting 22-25. But in the last couple of weeks, we have grown a lot. The state is painted yellow now. So definitely we are going to have 25 seats. There is no question of any coalition government."

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP and Mizo National Front (MNF) party candidate K Vanlalvena said that about 25 to 30 MLAs will be winning from his party and there is no question of a hung assembly.

"About 25-30 MLAS will be winning from the MNF party. There will be no hung assembly. MNF alone will be able to form the government," Vanlalvena said speaking to ANI on voting day. Speaking about his agenda in the ongoing polls, Vanlalvena said, "The main agenda will be the development of my constituency (Aizawl South-1) and tackling the employment problem. We have to find out some occupation for most of the young people."

Vanlalvena also said that he may forego his Rajya Sabha seat if he wins from his constituency. "I will be the winner in this election. Wherever I visit within my constituency, everybody loves me for my good work...If I win in this election I may resign from Rajya Sabha," he said. On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Aizawl South-I assembly F Lalremsangi said that his party will be winning some seats in this poll and will be part of the next government in Mizoram.

"This time BJP will be able to win some seats. BJP will be the part of next government in Mizoram," Lalremsangi said adding that no party will be getting an absolute majority in the election. Polling for the Mizoram Assembly is underway. The counting of votes is scheduled on December 3. The state has recorded a voter turnout of 26.43 per cent till 11 am. Voting kicked off in the Northeastern state at 7 am on Tuesday and will continue till 3 pm.