India News | Mizoram Village Council and Local Council Election to Witness Triangular Fight
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Election to over 500 village councils in nine districts of Mizoram and over 70 local councils within Aizawl municipal area will be held on Thursday.
Aizawl, Aug 26 (PTI) Election to over 500 village councils in nine districts of Mizoram and over 70 local councils within Aizawl municipal area will be held on Thursday.
The rural and local body polls state will witness a triangular contest from the ruling MNF and two opposition parties - Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM) and Congress.
According to an election official, polling will be held from 7 am to 5 pm during which strict social distancing will be maintained.
A total of 4,54,180 electorates, including 2,29,937 female voters would exercise their franchise in village council polls while 2,18,758 voters, including 1,17,037 female voters would elect their representatives in local council polls where ballot papers would be used, they said.
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Counting of votes will be held as soon as polling is over, he said.
There are altogether 558 village councils in nine districts barring three ADCs areas in the southern part of the state and 83 local councils within Aizawl municipal area.
A total of 8,491 candidates, including 2,102 women, are in the fray for both the polls.
The ruling MNF has fielded 2,438 candidates for village councils while main opposition Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM) has fielded 1,197 candidates.
Congress has fielded 2,075 candidates, BJP -298, Hmar Peoples Convention (HPC) 6, Mizoram Peoples Conference (MPC) and National Peoples Party (NPP) have fielded two candidates each.
There are 908 independent candidates for the upcoming rural polls.
As for local council polls, MNF has the highest number of candidates at 540, followed by Congress at 533.
ZPM has fielded 432, MPC 5 and there are 55 independent candidates for the local body polls.
According to election officials, MNF and Congress have already won 12 and 3 village councils unopposed respectively.
Although the existing village council term was due to expire on May 7, it has been extended twice till September 7 due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the state election commission on Wednesday postponed elections to 21 local councils within Aizawl city area and 8 village councils in Aizawl district following the surge in Covid-19 cases in those areas.
The order issued by the commission said that elections to 21 local councils and 8 village councils have been deferred until further order to prevent and contain the spread of novel coronavirus.
Earlier, opposition parties have asked the state election commission to defer the polls as there is a high risk of community spread due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in the state.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)