Aizawl, Oct 09: The Mizoram assembly, comprising 40 seats, is gearing up for election on November 7 in a single-phase electoral process, announced Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. The current term of the Mizoram assembly, led by Chief Minister Zoramthanga, concludes on December 17, and the election results will be unveiled on December 3.
The electoral process will kick off with the issuance of the gazette notification on October 13, with a nomination submission window open until October 20. The nominations will undergo scrutiny on October 21, and the final date for withdrawal of candidature is October 23.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar also emphasized that the upcoming elections in Mizoram, along with Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, will involve 8.2 crore male and 7.8 crore female voters, along with 60.2 lakh first-time voters.
Moreover, CEC Rajiv Kumar highlighted that around 60 lakh first-time voters in the 18-19 age group will participate in the elections across these five states. To engage and encourage young voters, more than 2900 polling stations will be managed by youth.
In the Mizoram political landscape, key contenders for victory include the Mizo National Front (MNF), Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), Congress, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The MNF, led by CM Zoramthanga, secured 18 seats in 2018 and aims to extend its tenure, contending with challenges posed by Kuki-Meitei ethnic violence in neighboring Manipur, which has had spillover effects in Mizoram.
The Congress, once a dominant force in the state, saw a decline in influence, securing only five seats out of 40 in the 2018 election. The Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), formed as an alliance of regional parties in 2018, centers its platform on governance and transparency, offering an alternative political agenda. In its debut election in 2018, ZPM secured eight seats, surpassing even the Congress.
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While the BJP leads the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), where the MNF is also a participant, the saffron party has yet to establish a significant independent presence in Mizoram. Notably, Mizoram is the only state in the country without a single woman MP or MLA, with only four women MLAs in its history.
The upcoming Mizoram elections in 2023 will coincide with polls in four other states: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Rajasthan.
In the 2018 Mizoram Assembly Election Results, the Mizo National Front (MNF) emerged as the clear winner, securing 27 out of the total 40 seats, comfortably surpassing the majority threshold of 21 seats. The Indian National Congress won four seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to secure one seat. Additionally, independent candidates won eight seats in the assembly.
In terms of vote share, the MNF received 37.70% of the votes, establishing itself as the preferred choice among voters. The Congress secured 29.98% of the vote share, while the BJP received 8.09%. Independent candidates collectively accounted for a substantial portion of the vote share at 22.94%.
