Mizoram assembly election result today, counting of votes begin

Digital Desk: All eyes are on Mizoram today as the results of the assembly elections are set to come out. Following the announcement of the results for the four states—Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana—attention has turned to the little northeastern state where the vote counting began at 8 am.

Voting in Mizoram took place on November 7, and the four states were scheduled to start counting ballots on Sunday. The Election Commission (EC) decided to postpone the counting by one day, however, because Sunday is particularly important to the state's Christian majority population.

In Mizoram, more than 80% of the 8.57 lakh voters in the state cast ballots. 174 contenders were running for the 40-member state assembly, including 18 women. In Mizoram, a party needs to cross the halfway mark of 21 to form a government.

The three major contenders for the election were the Congress, the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), and the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), each of which ran for 40 seats. In 13 seats, the BJP fielded candidates. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which contested the assembly polls in Mizoram's assembly elections for the first time, took part in four seats. There were seventeen Independent contenders as well.

The MNF, a part of the BJP-led NDA, won 26 seats in the 2018 assembly elections, defeating the Congress. In contrast to the 34 seats it won in 2013, the ZPM won eight seats, while the Congress dropped to third place with just five seats. Gaining one seat, the BJP made its debut in the Northeastern state.

The Mizoram Congress president Lalsawta is competing against K Lalsawmvela of the MNF and VL Zaithanzama of the ZPM in the Aizawl West-III constituency, which makes it particularly important. Up until 2018, Lalsawta served as the state's minister of finance. He had defeated MNF's Robert Romawia Royte in the previous two state elections, in 2008 and 2013.

The party's state unit president, Vanlalhmuaka, is running against Lalrintluanga Sailo of the MNF, Lalhmingthanga Sailo of the Congress, and Vanlalsailova of the ZPM in Dampa, the only seat the BJP was able to win in 2018.

According to an exit poll conducted by India Today Axis-My India, the ZPM is expected to win 28–35 seats in the 40-member assembly, handily defeating all other contenders. The exit poll indicates that the MNF will probably only consist of 3–7 seats.

Once a powerful force in Mizoram, the Congress is expected to do poorly and may receive as few as two or three seats. The exit poll indicated that 0–2 seats are where the BJP is predicted to end up.

ZPM's vote share in the assembly election is expected to reach 49%, while the MNF may receive 27% of the vote, according to the exit poll. The BJP is predicted to receive 2% of the vote, while the Congress is expected to receive 20% of the vote.