Mizoram (40 Assembly seats, majority mark: 21)
| Party | Won | Leading | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mizo National Front | 26 | 0 | 26 |
| Congress | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Independents | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 40 | 0 | 40 |
The Opposition Mizo National Front has won the Mizoram Assembly elections, votes for which were counted on Tuesday. The party, led by Zoramthanga, was last in power between 1998 and 2008, and replaces the two-term Congress government.
The Congress, under Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, has now lost the only state it ruled in the North East. Thanhawla lost both seats he contested. The BJP won a seat in the Mizoram Assembly for the first time.
Around 80% of 7.7 lakh voters had exercised their franchise to elect the 40-member House on November 28.
Here’s how the counting day unfolded:
6.48 pm: The Mizo National Front received 37.6% of the votes, while the Congress got 30.2%. The MNF won five seats by a margin of less than 2%. Mizo National Front candidate Lalchhandama Ralte won Tuivawl by three votes.
6.37 pm: Outgoing Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has submitted his resignation to the governor, reports ANI. “This is very disappointing,” he is quoted as saying. “I did not expect this. I think I underestimated the new formation ZPM [Zoram Peoples Movement].”
6.29 pm: A delegation of the Mizo National Front, led by its President Zoramthanga, meets Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan, reports ANI.
5.27 pm: Here is how the electoral map of Mizoram looks after the declaration of results in all the seats. It was a heavy defeat for the Congress, whose number of seats has come down to five from from 34 in 2013.
4.39 pm: The Mizo National Front candidate Lalchhandama Ralte defeated Congress’ RL Pianmawia in Tuivawl by just three votes. Ralte won 5,207 votes and Pianmawia 5,204. This is the narrowest victory margin in the state, followed by a margin of 72 votes in Lunglei East and 77 votes in Lunglei West.
4.32 pm: Thirty-eight out of 40 seats have been declared. Independent candidates are leading in the remaining two seats. The Mizo National Front has won 26 seats.
4.29 pm: Zoramthanga says his government’s first priorities will be to impose prohibition on liquor, repair roads and implement a flagship Social Economic Development Programme, reports ANI.
Zoramthanga has won Aizawl East I by 2,504 votes, and is likely to be the state’s next chief minister.
4.27 pm: Zoramthanga, the chief ministerial candidate of the Mizo National Front, tells ANI the party will not form any coalition, “either with BJP or any other ways, because my party can form the government on its own”. “We’re a part of NEDA [North East Democratic Alliance] and NDA [National Democratic Alliance] but we wouldn’t like to join Congress or UPA.”
4.08 pm: Celebrations at Mizo National Front’s office continue, reports ANI.
3.58 pm: With six seats yet to be declared, the Mizo National Front has won 23 seats and is leading in three. It has a vote share of 37.6%.
3.40 pm: The Congress has lost the polls. The Mizo National Front has now won 21 seats, which is the majority mark. It is leading in five seats.
3.29 pm: The Congress has won five constituencies, down from the 34 seats it had won in the 2013 elections.
Nine seats are yet to be declared – the Mizo National Front is leading six of them and independent candidates are ahead in three.
The only seat the BJP won was Tuichawng, where BD Chakma defeated RM Chakma of the MNF. This is the first time the BJP will have a member in the Mizoram Assembly. BD Chakma was a minister in the Congress government before he switched to the BJP.
3.18 pm: The vote share of the Mizo National Front is 37.5% and that of the Congress is 30.2%.
2.54 pm: The MNF has won three more seats and takes its tally to 19. It is leading in seven constituencies.
2.31 pm: The Mizo National Front candidate Lalchhandama Ralte is leading Congress’ RL Pianmawia in Tuivawl seat by just three votes. Ralte has 5,207 votes.
2.28 pm: Zoramthanga, the MNF’s chief ministerial candidate, is ahead in Aizawl East I by 1,474 votes. Trailing him is independent candidate K Sapdanga.
2.27 pm: The Mizo National Front is leading in nine constituencies. It has already won 16.
2.01 pm: Lawmawma Tochhawng of the Mizo National Front has the narrowest margin of victory so far – he defeated independent candidate Lalrinpuii in Lunglei East by 72 votes. The seat was held by the Congress earlier.
1.55 pm: Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla loses Champhai South by 1,049 votes to TJ Lalnuntluanga, the Mizo National Front candidate. In Serchhip constituency, the winning independent candidate Lalduhoma wins 5,481 votes, while Thanhawla gets 5,071.
1.51 pm: Celebrations continue at the Aizawl office of Mizo National Front.
1.45 pm: The margin of victory of former Home Minister R Lalzirliana of the Mizo National Front in Tawi constituency is 184 votes – the second closest win among declared seats so far. Lalzirliana had left the Congress to join the MNF recently. He defeated independent candidate Lalthatluanga.
The closest win so far is in Aizawl South II seat, where independent candidate Lalchhuanthanga defeated Denghmingthanga by 179 votes.
1.35 pm: Independent candidates have won five seats and are leading on three. According to the latest figures, the MNF has raised its tally to 14 and is leading on nine seats.
1.05 pm: The Mizo National Front has won 11 seats and is ahead in as many.
12.26 pm: The vote share of Mizo National Front is 37.9%, and that of Congress is 30.5%.
12.23 pm: Latest figures from the ECI show that the Mizo National Front has won five seats and is leading in 17.
12.16 pm: Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has now lost both constituencies he contested on. He had contested Serchhip and South Champhai.
12.14 pm: According to latest figures from the Election Commission, the Mizo National Front has won three seats and is leading in 18. The Congress is ahead in four constituencies.
11.58 am: The BJP’s state president, JV Hluna, has lost his deposit in Tawi constituency.
11.43 am: The BJP has opened its account with a victory for BD Chakma in the Tuichawng seat. Chakma was a minister in the Congress government before he switched to the BJP.
11.20 am: Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has lost in South Champhai seat to TJ Lalnuntluanga of the Mizo National Front. He had contested the Serchhip constituency as well, where he is trailing.
11.05 am: Former Home Minister R Lalzirliana, who left the Congress recently to join Mizo National Front, has won Tawi constituency. The Mizo National Front has also won Hrangturzo.
11.02 am: Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla continues to trail in both Serchhip and Champhai South seats after two rounds.
10.43 am: Finance Minister Lalsawta is trailing behind MNF candidate Robert Romawia Royte in the Aizawl East-II constituency, reports PTI.
10.42 am: Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla is trailing behind Zoram People’s Movement chief ministerial candidate Lalduhawma in Serchhip, and behind TJ Lalnuntluanga of the MNF in Champhai South seat, reports PTI.
10.38 am: The Mizo National Front is leading in 18 seats and the Congress in seven, according to data in the ECI database. The Zoram People’s Movement and the BJP are ahead in one seat each.
10.37 am: The Mizo National Front has started celebrating in Aizawl, reports ANI.
10.14 am: Hiphei, the former Assembly speaker who quit Congress last month to join the BJP, is at the third spot in Palak.
10.13 am: The Mizo National Front is now leading in 25 seats and the Congress in nine, reports NDTV.
9.56 am: Ngurdingliana of the Congress is leading in Kolasib.
9.52 am: The Mizo National Front is leading in 14 seats, the Congress in six and the BJP in one, reports NDTV.
9.48 am: Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla is trailing in both constituencies he contested from – Serchhip and Champhai South.
9.42 am: BJP state president JV Hluna is trailing in Tawi against Mizo National Front leader Lalzirliana, who was earlier the home minister in the Congress government.
9.33 am: Lalduhawma, the chief of the Zoram People’s Movement, a collective of seven regional parties, is leading in Serchhip constituency.
9.32 am: BD Chakma of the BJP is leading in Tuichawng. Chakma was a minister in the Congress government before switching to the BJP.
9.26 am: The Mizo National Front is leading in 11 seats, and the Congress in eight. Official trends from the ECI, however, are available only for three seats – with the MNF ahead in two and the BJP in one.
9.07 am: The Mizo National Front is leading in one constituency, according to data from the Election Commission of India.
8.31 am: Counting is taking place at 13 counting centres in the eight district headquarters.
8.30 am: Deputy Inspector General (Northern Range) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte had earlier said there would be a three-layer security cordon with eight companies of the Central Armed Police Force, the state armed police and unarmed police personnel during the counting, PTI reports.
8.05 am: Counting of votes has begun.
7.50 am: The Congress is battling 10 years of anti-incumbency and allegations of corruption and nepotism. In the 2013 election, the Congress had won 34 of the 40 seats. However, it has lost five of its legislators in recent months.
7.45 am: Deputy Inspector General of Police Lalbiakthanga Khiangte had earlier said there would be a three-layer security cordon manned by eight companies of the Central Armed Police Force and the state police during counting of votes.
7.35 am: Counting of votes is set to begin at 8 am.