Mizoram polls peaceful, over 80% voter turnout

Over 80 per cent of voters turned up to exercise franchise in Mizoram where polling for the assembly elections passed off peacefully on Monday.

“The polling passed off peacefully with no reports of any untoward incidents. Over 80 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 4 pm. However, it is likely to go up as we have received reports about long queues in some polling stations,” chief electoral officer Ashwini Kumar told dna.

Voting percentage in the state has always been on the higher side – 76.32% in 1998, 78.65% in 2003 and 82.2% in 2008. Voting for the 40-member state assembly took place in 1,126 polling stations in eight districts. Of the 686,305 voters, 336,799 were males and 349,506 females.

For the first time in the country, voter-verifiable paper audit trail system was used on a large scale in ten constituencies.

Among those who exercised franchise were the Brus (tribe). The last time they cast votes on home soil was in 1993. Some 37,000 Brus of Mizoram had fled to Tripura in 1997 in the wake of an ethnic riot. Around 1,034 Bru families are currently in Mizoram following their repatriation by Mizoram government since 2010.

Altogether 142 candidates, including six women, were in the fray. The Congress and three-party opposition Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA) fielded candidates in all 40 seats. The Zoram Nationalist Party fielded candidates in 38 seats while the BJP and the NCP in 17 and two seats respectively. Five others contested as Independents.

Chief minister Lal Thanhawla (Congress) and all his 11 ministers contested. Thanhawla contested from his home turf Serchhip and Hrangturzo. MNF leader and former chief minister Zoramthanga contested from Tuipui East.

The Congress, which won 32 seats in 2008, was optimistic about riding its pro-poor New Land Use Policy (NLUP) which, according to the 2011 Census, benefited nearly half of Mizoram’s 257,581 households.

Another factor brightening the Congress party’ hopes was the fact that voters in the state had often given the ruling party a second chance. They did so to MNF in 2003 and to the Congress in 1993.

Alliances have rarely worked here but the MNF, a major constituent of MDA, was equally upbeat.

“We’re sure voters who missed out on NLUP for not being Congress workers and supporters have voted in favour of us,” an MNF leader claimed.