Mizoram Assembly Polls: Police urge people to maintain peace, tranquillity

Aizwal (Mizoram) [India], November 6 : As Mizoram gets battle-ready for the Assembly polls on Tuesday, the police have urged people to maintain peace and tranquillity in the state.
The Mizoram Police urged the people to maintain peace and harmony during the voting process, urging the citizens to "cast their votes and demonstrate responsible citizenship", the Mizoram Police informed through an official statement.
"No untoward incidents have been reported during the campaign, which witnessed a large number of VVIPs visiting the state. This peaceful environment reflects Mizoram's commitment to upholding democratic values and ensuring a fair electoral process. A total of 174 candidates are contesting in the election and all the candidates have been provided with Personal Security Officers (PSOs) to ensure their security," the release added.
"For the polling day on November 7, 2023, Mizoram police has made extensive security arrangements. A total of 1,831 civil police officers from Mizoram, along with 2,527 Special Armed Police Force (SAPF) personnel and 2,700 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel have been deployed across the state," it stated.
The Mizoram assembly polls will be held on Tuesday while the votes will be counted on December 3.
A total of 174 candidates are in the fray for the Mizoram polls.
According to the CEO of Mizoram, the total number of electors in Mizoram stands at 8,51,895, of which 4,12,969 are male, 4,38,925 are female and 1(one) third gender. The total number of voters from Services in the state stands at 4,973.
First-time voters, who are in the age group 18-19 years, stand at 50,611. The sex ratio of voters in Mizoram is 1,063. The electoral population (EP) ratio stands at 63.27. The total number of polling stations is 1276, out of which 525 fall in urban areas and 751 in rural areas.
As many as 2,058 votes have been cast through home voting and 7,497 votes through postal ballots at designated facilitation centres for the Mizoram Assembly elections.
The 40-member state assembly is the only poll-bound state where the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are not the primary contenders.
In the 2018 assembly elections, the Mizo National Front (MNF) secured 26 seats with a vote share of 37.8 per cent and emerged victorious defeating the 10-year-old Congress government.
The Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM), the regional party that surprisingly came second in the 2018 polls bagged eight seats. It is seen by many as the main contender to the ruling party.
The Congress bagged five seats in the 2018 assembly polls while the BJP got one, securing its first seat in the Northeast state.
The MNF is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) but it has not sought a pre-poll alliance with its partner in the state. The BJP is contesting in 23 seats. In 2018, it had contested in 39 constituencies.
Incumbent Chief Minister Zoramthanga who is also the president of the Mizo National Front party is seeking re-election from the Aizawl East I constituency. State Congress Chief Lalswata is in the fray from Aizawl West 3 constituency.
Lalduhoma, who is the founder and president of the Zoram Nationalist Party is in the fray from Serchhip seat.