Of the 40 constituencies, it is believed that Congress will get at least 17 seats while UDA gets five and MNF three at present but this is not concrete. The picture is even murkier in the other 15 constituencies though Congress is again believed to win four or five more seats in southern Mizoram. If this happens, Congress will get a clear majority with nothing to hamper it in forming the government. With 22 seats being the absolute majority which the MNF party now holds; Congress has the greatest chance of getting this number though there are still people that believe the poll outcome would be a hung Assembly.

The visits of Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seem not to have helped the Congress’ chances because these visits had caused so many problems for the people in terms of freedom of movement. Sonia’s visits were confined to the rural areas and did not cause as much difficulty as the former two’s visits. In fact, the problems created by Rahul Gandhi and the PM could be more disadvantageous for the Congress because even the local papers in their editorials had criticized the curtailment of movement of the public.

CM Zoramthanga appears to be having a tough time this election because of the church-based Mizoram People Forum’s watchdog eyes on campaign proceedings. Rallies have been curtailed to the extent that unless these rallies are organized by the MPF, they are not to be organized at all. The MPF had wanted to chair even the rallies of Rahul and Manmohan Singh! Whipping up emotions through favourite party songs had been an election strategy that the MNF party had banked heavily on. But the brakes have been applied to this by the MPF with its dictate against airing songs on loudspeakers. This subdued atmosphere has affected the MNF party the most among the poll contestants.

UDA has adopted the advance in information technology to bring itself to the people through the various media available in Mizoram. Websites and blogs favouring the UDA have become popular poll organizers with UDA receiving the best voting percentages. The internet, however, has had little effect on the masses; the majority of whom have no access to the internet. Another novel strategy taken up by UDA is making use of the cellular telephones where UDA News has become a regular feature with free subscription. With the print media having taken up the habit of printing sms messages in entertainment pages, the UDA has fully made use of this advantage through information technology savvy young UDA supporters who send regular messages favouring UDA. Sadly, when push comes to shove, the UDA may be nothing but full of hot air which could deflate instantly when the people go to the polls.

MPPC supremo Lal Thanhawla has been having a hectic time scheduling and rescheduling his visits to the two constituencies he will be contesting from because of the VVIPs’ visits. He had been forced to leave his campaigns so many times that he has no choice left but to travel around in a helicopter. Helping out his candidates in other constituencies is not a choice that has been given to him. Despite this, the Congress seems to be making some headway in contrast to the other two main opponents MNF and UDA.

The four main party presidents, Zoramthanga (MNF), Lal Thanhawla (MPCC), Lalduhoma (ZNP) and Brig T Sailo (MPC) are all expected to win their seats (with the former three contesting from two constituencies each) though things may be a bit unclear for the octogenarian Brig Sailo who is contesting from a single constituency. Brig Sailo seemed to have lost his grip with people and this could have been caused by his single track mind about the need to have hydel-power projects in the state with everything centred round this. He has two opponents in the Aizawl West II constituency in the city of whom one is the solitary female candidate from the Congress Zothankimi. His other contestant is MNF candidate Lalruatkima who appears to have lost the youths’ votes because he resigned from his coveted post of general secretary in the state’s largest community-based organization YMA to join politics near the elections. Though YMA is hugely popular in the state, Lalruatkima’s popularity as an office bearer of this huge organization seems to have worked against him because his move into politics is being seen as using the YMA as a stepping stone to enter politics. No one would be surprised if Aizawl West II has a female representative for the first time in its history.

Mizoram has a total of 4,40,581 voters with 1,83,243 voters (nearly half) concentrated in the state capital Aizawl area alone. These votes will be divided between 206 (among whom are nine female candidates, a record for Mizoram) candidates with the most division in Mamit constituency (16,266 voters) which has the distinction of having greatest number of candidates (11 to be precise) to be found in a single constituency.

David M. Thangliana

Reang tribal refugees, sheltered in six northern Tripura camps and two Mizoram camps, recently exercised their franchise for the Mizoram assembly elections after special arrangements of ballot papers were made for them.

Over 8,000 refugee voters boycotted the assembly polls, refusing to exercise their franchise through postal ballots forcing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make special arrangements with normal ballot papers.

“We are happy with the arrangements of the ECI as in place of the postal ballot papers now normal ballot papers with symbols of political parties printed have been arranged,” said Elvis Chorkhy, president of the Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples Forum (MBDPF).

“The Commission, considering the request of the Reang refugee leaders, has for the first time made such arrangements of normal ballot papers and it’s a historical decision,” Special Observer to Mizoram election, Debasish Sen said.

 About 35,000 Reang tribal refugees have been sheltered in six north Tripura camps for the past 11 years following ethnic clashes with the majority Mizos. 

 Earlier, the Reang refugee boycotted the poll in protest against the missing of names of voters from the voters list and demanded proper ballot papers in place of postal ballots.

 Sunil Reang a voter said, “Now we are happy because we could cast our vote properly. But earlier it was tough for us to cast our vote because the ballot papers did not have any party symbols and had only the name of the candidates, therefore we boycotted the election. Now we voted in a proper way as the ballots have symbols and we are happy.”

The Reang tribals have fielded three candidates in the Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts in southern and eastern Mizoram.

Pinaki Das