The election saw a three-way fight between the ruling MNF, the ZPM, and the Congress. The ZPM was formed by merging six parties.
The MNF, ZPM and the Congress contested 40 seats each, while the BJP fielded candidates in 13 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which contested the assembly polls in Mizoram for the first time, fought in four seats. There were 17 independent candidates.
Some exit polls have predicted a clean sweep by the ZPM, but the majority indicated a hung assembly with no party getting a clear majority.
In the last assembly election in 2018, the MNF won 26 seats and the ZPM eight seats, relegating the Congress that bagged five seats to the third place. The BJP won one seat.
Zoramthanga’s party has projected him as the “guardian of the Chin-Kuki-Zo tribes”, though his rivals and other parties like the BJP has accused him of corruption, not checking rising unemployment and drug trafficking, and poor infrastructure.
Though the MNF is an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Zoramthanga – citing kinship and familial ties with the Chin-Kuki tribes in Myanmar – has openly given shelter to at least 40,000 refugees who fled from the junta rule in the neighbouring nation.
ZPM chief Lalduhoma said people are tired of the MNF. “Mizoram has been under the MNF for a long time. And people really want change in the way they are governed. They want to end corruption,” Lalduhoma told NDTV during the election campaign.
Elaborate arrangements have been made for the counting of votes. The counting was supposed to happen yesterday along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana.
The Election Commission, however, deferred it to today following appeals by political parties, churches, and student bodies as Sunday is a day for prayers in the Christian-majority state.
In some of the seats that have a lesser number of voters, only two rounds of counting will be held, but in most of the constituencies, five rounds will be counted.

India’s benchmark indexes opened at fresh all-time highs on Monday, aided by strong domestic macroeconomic data and elevated bets of a US rate cut in March, while analysts saw momentum picking up in the ongoing rally after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in key state elections.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 1.65% to 20,602.50 points, notching a record high for second session in a row. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 1.64% to an all-time high of 68,587.82, as of 9:16 a.m. IST.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The results of Assembly polls yesterday show that “people have rejected negativity”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this morning, urging the Opposition “not to vent the frustration of defeat” inside the Parliament.

The Prime Minister was addressing the media ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament.

“I request all MPs to come to Parliament with preparation. Against the backdrop of the election results, I would say that this is a golden opportunity for the Opposition. They must shed the negativity they have been carrying for nine years and proceed with positivity. Please do not vent the frustration of defeat in Parliament,” he said.

Urging the Opposition not to protest “for the sake of it”, he said, “This is for your benefit. The Opposition has a significant role in a democracy. Please understand it. The country does not want to halt on the road to development,” the Prime Minister said.