'We will get absolute majority,' ZPM Chief Lalduhoma says over exit-poll results on Mizoram polls

Guwahati: "We will get absolute majority," Chief of Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), the regional party in Mizoram, Lalduhoma told DH on Friday even as most exit polls suggested a hung Assembly.

The ZPM contested in all 40 Assembly seats and is seen as the main contender before the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), which is also confident of retaining power for the second straight term.

Exit polls conducted by three agencies said the ZPM could emerge as the second largest party by winning 12 to 18 seats while one predicted an absolute majority for it.

Post-poll alliance:

When asked about the possibility of having a post-poll alliance in case of a hung Assembly, Lalduhoma told DH, "Such a situation will not arise as we will form the government on our own. Just wait for the results."

The ZPM claims people voted for them as they are fed up with the failures of both MNF and Congress governments which remained in power in Mizoram since it attained statehood in 1987. Just before the polls on November 7, Lalduhoma told DH that ZPM's fight was against the MNF as Congress is no longer a force to reckon with. "People want a change," he said.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, ZPM Candidates, who contested as Independents, had bagged seven seats and were held responsible for Congress's defeat to MNF. ZPM's victory in Lunglei Municipality elections (Mizoram's second biggest town) and those in the Village Council polls led many to project it as the biggest challenger before MNF and Congress in the 2023 elections.

The ZPM promised a corruption free government if elected to power. But Congress, which was decimated to the third spot with just five seats in 2018, said that both ZPM and MNF are "entry points" for BJP and RSS in the Chrisitian-majority state. BJP contested in 23 seats this time.

Counting date rescheduled:

The Election Commission on Friday rescheduled the counting date for Mizoram election results from Sunday to Monday (December 4), fulfilling a demand by church bodies and NGOs in the state. The decision was taken on a day members of several influential NGOs in Mizoram staged a protest urging the EC to reschedule the counting date. They said the counting should be rescheduled as the Christians remain busy in Church activities on Sunday. A delegation of the NGO Coordination Committee met EC officials in New Delhi and urged them to reschedule the counting day as the counting on a Sunday could hurt sentiments of the Christians.