More than 70% voter turnout in Mizoram, MP Assembly polls
BJP eyeing fourth term, while Congress is hoping for comeback after 15 years in MP
AIZAWL/BHOPAL: Over 73 per cent of the 7.68 lakh Mizoram and Madhyapradeshvotersonwednesday exercised their franchise to elect a new Assembly, a top election oficial said.
Madhya Pradesh is voted to elect a 230-member assembly. The state has witnessed a high decibel campaign for the poll, which remains a direct battle BJP and Congress. The BJP is eyeing a fourth straight term in ofice, while the Congress is hoping for a comeback after 15 years in the opposition.
“Little over 73 per cent of the 7,68,181 voters cast their votes by the end of schedule balloting hour at 4 p.m. However, the percentage might go up to 77-78 per cent as a large number of voters are still in queues at many polling stations in different parts of the state,” Chief Electoral Oficer Ashish Kundra told the media.
Long queues of colourful motley crowd were seen outside many polling booths across districts well before the voting began at 7am.
“Conducive situation and favourable climate helped the electorate exercise their franchise smoothly,” Kundra said, adding that around 25 EVMS (Electronic Voting Machines) and VVPAT (Voters Veriiable Paper Audit Trail) devices malfunctioned, but no untoward incident has been reported so far.
The CEO said that several voters aged above 100 cast their votes with the help of their family members at different polling stations.
Sharing borders with Myanmar (510 km) and Bangladesh (318 km), mountainous Mizoram is the last Congress-ruled state of the eight northeastern states.
Chief Minister and state Congress head Lal Thanhawla, and former Chief Minister and MNF President Zoramthanga cast their votes in Aizawl.
The ruling Congress led by the incumbent Chief Minister and state party chief Lal Thanhawla is aiming for a third consecutive term despite a stiff challenge from the main opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) headed by Zoramthanga.
Both Congress and MNF have ielded candidates in all the 40 Assembly constituencies.
The Congress has been in power, except for 10 years, ever since Mizoram became a full-ledged state in 1987. The MNF, a constituent of the Bjp-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), ruled during those 10 years − 1998-2003 and 2003-2008.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also trying to make its presence felt as it has ielded 39 candidates − its highest ever.