A representative image of a person casting vote.
Credit: PTI File Photo
With Mizoram heading for elections on November 7, 2023, candidates from all the parties have started their campaigns.
In the last Assembly election held in 2018, the MNF won with a clear majority of 26 seats out of 40, while the ZPM and Congress secured eight and five seats each, respectively.
In this article, we will discuss the number of key parties in Mizoram this election season and their best-ever performances since 1987, the year when Mizoram attained statehood."
The major poll players in this year's Mizoram Assembly elections are MNF, Congress, ZPM, and BJP.
1. Congress: The Grand Old Party is a force to reckon with as far as Mizoram is concerned. INC has the record of clean-sweeping maximum seats in the state not once, but twice!
In the 2013 Assembly polls, the Congress secured a thumping victory by winning 34 out of the 40 seats - a record that still stands to this day.
Likewise, in 2008, the party was all smiles when it amassed 32 seats - totally annihilating its rival parties MNF and ZPM - and easily forming the government in Mizoram.
2. MNF: The Mizo National Front (MNF) is the incumbent ruling party in Mizoram with Zoramthanga as the party leader and Chief Minister. It is undoubtedly the strongest regional player in the state, and just like the Congress, it too has clinched multiple remarkable electoral victories.
MNF's best performance came in the year 2018 when it managed to triumph in the polls with a record 27 seats.
3. ZPM: Established in 2018, the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) is a regional political party created to offer an alternative to the MNF. In its debut in the Assembly polls in the same year, ZPM astounded many by securing an impressive eight seats, establishing itself as a significant player in Mizoram's political arena. The upcoming state Assembly election is expected to be a closely contested battle between ZPM and MNF.
4. BJP: The Bharatiya Janata Party has a very limited presence in Mizoram. However, the saffron party is trying hard to make inroads in the northeastern state.
The biggest challenge the BJP faces in Mizoram is appealing to the state's majority Christian population and the dominance of heavyweight regional parties.
In the last Assembly elections in 2018, the BJP managed to secure only one seat.
(With data from ECI and IndiaVotes)