Mizoram Election Results Live: ZPM Looking at a Landslide Win; Lalduhoma To Be New CM

The Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) registered a landslide victory by winning 27 out of the 40 seats in the Mizoram Assembly Elections. In what can be termed as a major loss for the Mizo National Front (MNF), Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga lost to ZPM's Lalthansanga in the Aizawl East-1 constituency by 2,101 votes.

ZPM’s Chief Ministerial Candidate Lalduhoma emerged as the clear winner in the Serchhip constituency, securing a significant victory over MNF candidate J Malsawmzuala Vanchhawng by a margin of 2,982 votes.

Other Prominent losses include MNF candidate Tawnluia who lost to ZPM candidate in Tuichang; Health Minister and MNF candidate R Lalthangliana who lost to ZPM's Jeje Lalpekhlua in South Tuipui; and Rural Development Minister Laruatkima who lost to ZPM nominee Lalnghinglova Hmar in Aizawl West II.

Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga is likely to meet Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati at 4 pm on Monday to tender his resignation following his party’s debacle in the assembly polls, officials said.

K. Beichhua, who was the BJP candidate from the Saiha constituency, has emerged as the winner from that seat. Prior to this, BJP's K Hrahmo had won the Palak seat. This victory of securing two seats is a significant accomplishment for the saffron party in the state.

Previously, the party had achieved the feat of winning only one seat in the assembly, which was a significant milestone for the first time in 2018. Despite not making much headway among the Christian Mizos in the state, the BJP's strategy of focusing its resources on constituencies with sizable ethnic minority populations appears to have paid off, as it has slowly but steadily increased its influence in the region.

The Chief Ministerial candidate of the ZPM party, Lalduhoma, has won by a significant margin in the Serchhip constituency, defeating the candidate from the MNF party by a margin of 2982 votes.

Likely, he is poised to become the next Chief Minister of Mizoram.

Mizoram Rural Development Minister and MNF candidate Laruatkima lost to ZPM nominee Lalnghinglova Hmar in the Aizawl West II Assembly constituency. Hmar secured 10,398 votes, while Lalruatkima won 5,579 votes and Congress's Ngurdingliana received 1,528 votes. Independent candidate K Laldingliana won just 99 votes.

#WATCH | #MizoramElections2023 | Serchhip: ZPM Chief Ministerial candidate Lalduhoma says,"... Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow I will meet the Governor...Swearing-in will be within this month... pic.twitter.com/An2dikjljq

— ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2023

Mizoram Health Minister and MNF candidate Dr R Lalthangliana loses to ZPM's Jeje Lalpekhlua by a margin of 135 votes.

ZPM appears to be on track to achieve a resounding first-time win in the northeastern state. The Election Commission has announced its victory in two seats, and its candidates are leading in 27 others.

Deputy Chief Minister Tawnluia lost to ZPM candidate W Chhuanawma in Tuichang. Tawnluia was defeated by a margin of 909 votes. On the other hand, Chief Minister Zoramthanga was trailing in the Aizawl East-1 seat to ZPM's Lalthansanga after two rounds of counting.

The BJP has now taken the lead in Tuichawng, a region dominated by the Chakma ethnic minority. This seat is significant as it is the only one the BJP has won in the past. In 2018, the party's candidate emerged victorious, marking their first success in the state with a Christian majority.

Based on the latest updates from all 40 seats, the ZPM has taken a substantial lead. They have already won one seat and are currently leading in 26 others. On the other hand, the ruling MNF is only leading in 7 seats at the moment. It is worth noting that the ZPM, participating as a recognized political party for the first time, is currently leading in all ten Aizawl seats. This is ahead of influential incumbent ministers like Zoramthanga, Lalruatkima, and sitting Rajya Sabha MP K. Vanlalvena.

The Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) has achieved its first win in Tuichang, defeating the current MNF MLA.

Visuals from inside a counting centre in Aizawl as counting of votes for Mizoram Assembly elections begins.#AssemblyElectionsWithPTI #MizoramElections2023 pic.twitter.com/s2MgNEPQJR

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 4, 2023

• K. Sapdanga is leading in Aizawl North-III by 145 votes after the first round of counting.

• Lalchhuanthanga is leading in Aizawl South-II by 930 votes after the first round of counting.

• Baryl Vanneihsangi is leading in Aizawl South-III by 800 votes after the first round of counting.

• TBC Lalvenchhunga is leading in Aizawl West-I by 1298 votes after the first round of counting.

• Lalnghinglova Hmar is leading in Aizawl West-II by 1961 votes after the first round of counting.

Tug-of-war continues between ZPM and MNF with the former leading with 15 seats, while the latter trailing with 11 seats.

The initial results show the following scores without showing a clear trend:

ZPM - 20

MNF - 13

Congress - 6

BJP - 1

The Mizo National Front (MNF), led by Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, is aiming to stay in power in the upcoming elections. They face tough competition from the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), which is gaining popularity, and the Congress party, which is hoping to recover from its disappointing performance in 2018.

Since Mizoram was established in 1986, the ruling party has alternated between the MNF and the Congress. In 2018, Zoramthanga became the Chief Minister for the third time after the MNF secured 27 seats and 38.4% of the votes. This marked his return to power after a decade, as he had previously led two consecutive MNF governments from 1998 to 2008. However, the Congress, led by Lal Thanhawla, held power for two terms in between.

The MNF is facing a challenging battle against the ZPM. In the 2018 elections, the ZPM, despite being an unregistered party, secured eight seats and became the second-largest party in the Assembly. Led by former MP Lalduhoma, who is also an ex-IPS officer, the ZPM aims to strengthen its position by contesting all 40 constituencies. It will especially focus on expanding its success from the recent municipal election in Lunglei, the second-largest town in Mizoram, where it won all 11 seats.

At present, the counting of postal ballots is in progress, with the ZPM party leading with 11 seats, followed by the MNF party with 8 seats, and the Congress party with 5 seats.

The MNF currently holds the lead in 3 seats, with the ZPM closely behind with leads in 2 seats. The Congress party has secured a lead in 1 seat.

The counting of votes for 40 assembly seats has started amid tight security.

After governing Mizoram for two consecutive terms, the Congress party, with only five out of 40 seats, fell to third place in 2018. They were surpassed by their main rival, the Mizo National Front (MNF), who won 26 seats.

The debutant Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), won eight seats.

Aizawl Deputy Commissioner (DC), Nazuk Kumar while speaking on the security deployment for the counting of votes scheduled to be held tomorrow said, "For tomorrow's security arrangements, there will be a three-tier cordon around our counting centres. The innermost layer will be manned by the CAPF, which is already posted with us, and the second and third layers will be managed by the Mizoram State Police."

Exit polls suggested a tight contest between the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) and Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), a scenario echoed by political observers. Both regional parties remain optimistic about securing an absolute majority to establish the next government in Mizoram.

MNF leader and Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga is a highly influential figure in this year's assembly election. He is running for the Aizawl East-I seat and his main opponent is Lalsanglura Ralte, the Congress candidate and vice-president of ZPM party.

Another key candidate this time is the state Congress chief Lalsawta who contested from Aizawl West-III. He contested against ZPM candidate VL Zaithanzama and MNF candidate K Sawmvela.

ZPM founder Lalduhoma is another key contestant in the Mizoram assembly elections. He contested from the Serchhip constituency against Congress' R Vanlaltluanga and MNF's debutant candidate J Malsawmzual Vanchhawng.

BJP state unit president Vanlalhmuaka contested from the Dampa constituency - a key seat for the saffron party as this was the only seat that it was able to bag in 2018.

Legislative Assembly elections in Mizoram were held on 7 November 2023. The elections saw a voter turnout of around 77.73 percent. Over 8 lakh (8,50,288) persons were eligible to vote in the north-eastern state's 1,276 polling stations. According to data from the Voter Turnout app, the Serchhip district had the highest voter turnout of 84.49 percent. This was followed by a voter turnout of 84.23 percent in the Mamit district and 84.16 percent in the Hnahthial district. Tuikum-27 had the highest voter turnout of the assembly constituencies, with 87.32 percent.

The counting of votes to the 40-member assembly constituency of Mizoram is being held today under stringent security arrangements.