Mizoram Assembly election results: Congress wins, will form government

The Congress retained power in Mizoram for the second consecutive time, winning 20 of the 40 seats as the vote count progressed on Monday.

Congress leader and Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, 71, was elected to the state assembly for a record ninth time. He contested from two places in central Mizoram and won both seats.

This is for the fifth time the Congress has come to power in the northeastern state of Mizoram, which shares borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh. In the outgoing assembly, the Congress had 32 seats.

"Congress candidates are leading in six more seats over their opposition nominees," Mizoram Joint Chief Electoral Officer H. Lalengmawia said.

Thousands of Congress activists celebrated here and across the state as election results began to pour in.

Also read, Lal Thanhawla, a poster boy of Congress in Mizoram

Latest updates

* Congress win 32 of 39 seats in Mizoram. Read more.

* Latest development indicate that Congress has won 20 seats and MNF 2. With this, Congress crosses the halfway mark and will form the government in Mizoram.

* The ruling Congress seems set to retain power for the second consecutive term in Mizoram. By 1 p.m., the party won ten seats and was surging ahead in nine constituencies in the vote count for the 40-member assembly. According to Election Department officials, Congress candidates have either won or were leading in 20 seats while the opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) won one seat and was leading on two other seats. The MNF i8s heading the three-party Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA) in the electoral battle this time.

* Congress wins 10 seats, CM Lal Thanhawla victorious from both seats he contested.

* Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla won from Serchhip and Hrangturzo, the two seats he contested in the Assembly elections. In Serchhip, Thanwala won by by a margin of 734 votes defeating his nearest MNF rival Lalramzauva, who got 4,985 in a four cornered contest. In Hrangturzo, the chief minister defeated his Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) rival Lalthansanga by 1638 votes. Thanhawla received 5173 votes in the five cornered contest.

* Congress has now won five of the 40 seats in the Mizoram Assembly, with Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, romping home from Serchhip, while the opposition MNF won from Saiha. The four times chief minister, was looking toward a second consecutive term. He also contested from Hrangturzo. Other winners for the Congress were Forest Minister H. Rohluna from Lengteng, Parliamentary Secretary S. Laldingliana from Lunglei South, R.L. Pianmawia from Tuivawl and John Siamkunga from South Tuipui. The party was leading in five seats. MNF nominee K. Beichhua bagged the Saiha seat, while the party was leading in one constituency.The ZNP was leading in one seat.

* The most recent development confirms that Congress has won 3 seats and are leading in 12. The party needs 21 seats to form government in the state. The Mizoram Democratic Alliance is leading in 3.

* Congress ahead in initial counting, wins 1 seat and leads in 12.

* Counting of votes for the 40-member Mizoram Assembly, election to which was held on November 25, began at 8 am today in the headquarters of all eight districts of the state amidst tight security.

* The exercise began with the counting of postal ballots.

* The fate of 142 candidates, including Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla of the Congress, 11 of his cabinet colleagues, Zoram Nationalist Party president Lalduhawma, Mizo National Front chief Zoramthanga and Mizoram People's Conference chief Lalhmangaiha Sailo, will be decided.

* The results would reveal if four-time Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla faced anti-incumbency this time. He contested from two seats - his home turf Serchhip and Hrangturzo.

* Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) president Lalduhawma also contested from two seats - Aizawl West II and Kolasib.

* The ruling Congress and the opposition Mizoram Democratic Alliance, comprising MNF, MPC and Maraland Democratic Front (MDF), contested from all 40 constituencies.

* The Chief Minister is facing tough opposition from C Lalramzauva, an advocate and the Mizoram Democratic Alliance nominee in Serchhip.

* The main opponent MNF leader and former chief minister Zoramthanga is trying his luck from Tuipui East seat.

* Apart from Congress and MDA who contested all 40 seats, the ZNP is contesting 38 seats and the BJP 17 seats, while the NCP fielded two nominees, the Jai Maha Bharat Party contested one seats and independent four seats.

* There were six women candidates - one each from the Congress and the MDA, three belonging to the BJP and one independent.

* Mizoram is the only state in India where women voters outnumber men by 9,806 in the electorate of 690,860.