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Mizoram Elections 2018 Voting: 75 Per Cent Voter Turnout Recorded Till 5PM

The voting for Mizoram assembly elections 2018 began at 7 AM on Wednesday and continued till 4 PM.

Updated: November 28, 2018 11:32 PM IST

By India.com News Desk

Mizoram Elections 2018 Voting: 75 Per Cent Voter Turnout Recorded Till 5PM

Mizoram Elections 2018: The voting for Mizoram assembly elections 2018 came to an end with 75 per cent voter turnout being recorded until 5 PM. The voting started at 7 AM and was scheduled to continue till 4 PM. The state has 7.70 lakh eligible voters who will decide the fate of candidates. The election is being seen as a major test for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress. The state assembly elections hold significance as they come barely a year ahead of Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

Security has been beefed up in the state to avoid any untoward incident. The Congress and the Mizoram National Party (MNF) have ruled Mizoram since 1987 when it became a full-fledged state. Interestingly, no party has been able to form government thrice since that year.

Election to the 40-member assembly in Mizoram, which has a population of about 10 lakh, is significant for the BJP that considers it to be the ‘final frontier’ in the region. In the 2013 elections, the Congress had won 34 seats, while its main opposition, the Mizo National Front (MNF), got five and the Mizoram People’s Conference bagged one seat.

The Congress and the MNF have fielded 40 candidates each, while the BJP is contesting in 39 seats. The Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM), an alliance formed by two political parties and four groups, is contesting in 35 seats.

A pre-poll survey, conducted by C-Voter has predicted 17 seats for the MNF, 12 for the INC, none for the ZPM and two for Others. This indicates a close contest between the prime rivals – the MNF and the Congress.

A total of 209 candidates are in the fray for today’s polls and the fate of the candidates would be decided by 7,70,395 voters, which include 3,94,897 women. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) was used during the polling.

Ahead of elections, the state witnessed intense protests by civil society groups over the place of voting for 12,026 Bru voters. The issue led to the replacement of Chief Electoral Officer SB Shashank in less than two weeks before the polls.

Campaigning in the state saw paradigm shift this election season with political parties making extensive use of social media platforms like Facebook and Whatsapp to woo young voters.

The ruling Congress banked heavily for the elections on its flagship New Land Use Policy (NLUP), which brought the party to power for two consecutive terms.

The campaign had reached its peak in the final week with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Other prominent leaders who campaigned in the state included Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh, National People’s Party (NPP) leader and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

Live Updates

  • Nov 28, 2018 5:17 PM IST
    Mizoram Election 2018 Voting LIVE: 75 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 PM in the state.
  • Nov 28, 2018 5:08 PM IST

    Mizoram Election 2018 Voting LIVE: 67 per cent voter turnout has been recorded, said the State Chief Electoral Officer. While Serchip recorded a maximum of 74 per cent, while Champhai recorded 72 per cent. Capital city Aizawl recorded the lowest polling — 62 per cent.

  • Nov 28, 2018 3:27 PM IST

    Mizoram Election 2018 Voting LIVE: 58 per cent voter turnout has been recorded till 3 PM, as per Office Chief Electoral Officer.

  • Nov 28, 2018 2:23 PM IST

    Mizoram Election 2018 Voting LIVE: Mizoram is the only state where women electors outnumber men.

  • Nov 28, 2018 2:12 PM IST

  • Nov 28, 2018 1:38 PM IST

  • Nov 28, 2018 1:31 PM IST

    Mizoram Election 2018 Voting LIVE: The Election Commission has set up 15 special polling stations at Kanhmun, a village along the Mizoram-Tripura border, to facilitate voting by Reang tribal refugees, sheltered in Tripura for the past 21 years.

  • Nov 28, 2018 1:25 PM IST

    Mizoram Election 2018 Voting LIVE: Many regional parties have fielded candidates in most of the 40 seats. They include People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM), Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) and Meghalaya’s dominant ruling party National People’s Party (NPP).

  • Nov 28, 2018 12:29 PM IST

    Mizoram Election 2018 Voting LIVE: Vote will be counted on December 11 along with four other poll-bound states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.

  • Nov 28, 2018 11:49 AM IST

    Mizoram Election 2018 Voting LIVE: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also trying to make its presence felt in the last non-saffron party dominated state and fielded 39 candidates, its highest ever.

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