MNF bounces back in Mizoram

The Mizo National Front (MNF) yesterday scripted a spectacular victory in Mizoram, uprooting the Congress in its last bastion in the Northeast to return to power after 10 years. MNF supremo Zoramthanga met Governor Kummanam Rajasekhar yesterday evening and staked claim to form the government in Mizoram, after a decade. The MNF won 26 seats in the 40-member assembly, a gain of 21 seats since 2013. The Congress managed to bag five seats compared to 34 seats in the 2013 assembly elections.

No party in the state has been able to form a government thrice in a row since 1987 when Mizoram became a full-fledged state.

Outgoing chief minister Lal Thanhawla suffered defeats from both seats he contested.