Mizoram Assembly Elections 2023: All you should know!

Mizoram is all set to witness Assembly elections on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Mizoram is among one of the five states that are scheduled to go under assembly elections ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. 
The northeastern state will elect all 40 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The counting for the votes will be held on December 3, 2023.

Background

The tenure of Mizoram Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on December 17, 2023. The previous assembly elections were held in November 2018. After the election, Mizo National Front formed the state government, with Zoramthanga becoming Chief Minister.

Key Parties and Contests

The main contenders in the Assembly elections are:

Mizo National Front (MNF)
Indian National Congress (INC)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

According to the experts, the MNF is the incumbent party, and it is expected to face a tough challenge from the INC and the BJP. The BJP has been making inroads into Mizoram in recent years, and it is hoping to make a breakthrough in this election.

Key Issues

The key issues in the election are expected to be development, unemployment, and corruption. Development is a major issue in Mizoram, as the state is one of the poorest in India. Unemployment is also a major problem, as the state has a high rate of youth unemployment. Corruption is also a major issue in Mizoram, as the state has a poor record on transparency and accountability.

Number of voters

According to the Chief Electoral Office of the state, more than 8.52 lakh voters including 4,13,064 male and 4,39,028 female voters will exercise their franchise in 1276 polling stations and will decide the fate of 174 candidates in Mizoram.

Mizoram has 50,611 electors in the age group 18-19 who will be voting for the first time. There are 8490 senior citizens above the age of 80 in the state.

Security ahead of elections

Around 50 companies of CAPF have been deployed to conduct free and fair elections in the state. The ECI has identified 30 polling stations in the state as critical polling stations.

As per official data, there are only 26 voters at Thelep polling station under Thorang (ST) assembly constituency.
On the other hand, a maximum of 1481 voters are at Zemabawk VIII polling stations under Aizawl East I (Gen) assembly constituency.

According to the official data shared by Election Commission of India, there are 14,924 voters in the Thorang assembly constituency which is the lowest voter constituency and the Tuichawng constituency is the biggest assembly constituency with 36,041 voters.

Impact of the Elections

The results of the Mizoram Legislative Assembly election will have a significant impact on the political landscape of the state. The MNF is hoping to retain power, but it is facing a tough challenge from the INC and the BJP. The outcome of the election will also have a bearing on the national political scene, as it will be seen as a test of the BJP's popularity in the northeast.

Noteworthy here is that in a 40-member Mizoram assembly, the Mizo National Front bagged 26 seats with a vote share of 37.8% to emerge victorious in the 2018 polls. The Congress secured five seats and the BJP won one seat.

Along with Mizoram, Chhattisgarh  is also scheduled to under polls on November 7, 2023.