Spotlight on regional MNF, ZPM as counting of votes begin in Mizoram

Guwahati: The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) or the Opposition Zoram People's Movement (ZPM)? The spotlight in Mizoram is on the two regional parties as counting of votes polled for Assembly elections began at 8am.

Polling for the 40 member Assembly was conducted on November 7 and the counting was scheduled on December 3 (Sunday). But the Election Commission on Friday decided to defer the counting by a day following demand by church bodies and the local NGOs to reschedule the day as voters in the Christian-majority state remain busy in church activities on Sunday. 

Even as most of the exit polls suggested a hung Assembly, both MNF and ZPM on Sunday exuded confidence of forming their government without support from the Congress or BJP, the two national parties not seen as main contenders in the elections. 

Three exit polls suggested that both MNF and ZPM could end up a few seats short of the majority mark of 21 while another predicted a comfortable victory for ZPM, the regional party, which is eyeing to capture power in Mizoram for the first time. 

The MNF led 84-year-old Zoramthanga, a former insurgent leader-turned politician, is confident of forming its government for the second straight term banking mainly on Mizo nationalism. The ZPM chief Lalduhoma, a former IPS officer, on the other hand, believes people this time voted for a change as they are "fed up with the failure of both MNF and Congress," the two parties which remained in power since Mizoram attained statehood in 1987. 

Zoramthaga has repeatedly claimed that his government's decision to provide shelters to the Chin-Kuki refugees from neighbouring Myanmar and Manipur helped MNF to keep its vote bank intact and fight the possible anti-incumbency. But ZPM says the Manipur and Myanmar issue would not help MNF alone as all parties in Mizoram stood strongly behind the Chin-Kukis during the crisis. 

A total of 174 candidates including 16 women are in the fray. 

MNF, ZPM and Congress contested in all 40 constituencies while BJP put up candidates in 23 seats with a target to bag a few and be a partner in a possible coalition government in the state where 87% people are Christians. In 2018, BJP won only one seat while MNF stormed back to power with 26 seats pushing the ruling Congress to the third spot with just five. ZPM candidates, who contested as Independents, emerged as the second largest party with seven seats.