Mizoram Assembly Polls: State gears up for triangular fight between MNF, ZPM, Congress

Aizawl: Polling for the Mizoram Assembly began on Tuesday, the counting of which is scheduled on December 3.
The voting began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and will continue till 3 p.m.
A total of 174 candidates are in the fray.
According to the CEO Mizoram, the total number of electors in Mizoram stands at 8,51,895. Out of which 4,12,969 are male, 4,38,925 are female and 1(one) third gender. There are a total of 4,973 service voters in Mizoram.
First-time voters who are in the age group 18-19 years stand at 50,611. The sex ratio of voters in Mizoram is 1,063. The electoral population (EP) ratio stands at 63.27. The total number of polling stations is 1276, out of which 525 fall in urban areas and 751 in rural areas.
As many as 2,058 votes have been cast through home voting and 7,497 votes through postal ballots at designated facilitation centres for the Mizoram Assembly elections.
The 40-member state assembly is the only poll-bound state where the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are not the primary contenders.
In the 2018 assembly elections, the Mizo National Front (MNF) secured 26 seats with a vote share of 37.8 per cent and emerged victorious defeating the 10-year-old Congress government.
The Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM), the regional party that surprisingly came second in the 2018 polls bagged eight seats. It is seen by many as the main contender to the ruling party.
The Congress bagged five seats in the 2018 assembly polls while the BJP got one, securing its first seat in the North-eastern state.
The MNF is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) but it has not sought a pre-poll alliance with its partner in the state. The BJP is contesting in 23 seats. In 2018, it had contested in 39 constituencies.
Incumbent Chief Minister Zoramthanga who is also the president of Mizo National Front party is seeking re-election from the Aizawl East I constituency. State Congress Chief Lalswata is in the fray from Aizawl West 3 constituency. Lalduhoma, who is the founder and president of the Zoram Nationalist Party is in the fray from Serchhip seat.