Last day for withdrawal of nominations in Mizoram, MP

Monday is the last day for candidates to withdraw their nominations for contesting assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram.

Elections in Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 25.

In Mizoram, over 11,000 Bru voters will exercise their franchise through postal ballots. Some of them are currently staying in relief camps in neighbouring Tripura.

Mizoram Chief Minister P.U. Lalthanhawla, who leads the Congress Party in the state, expressed confidence about achieving a victory in the polls.

The race for securing the Serchhip constituency in Mizoram would be keenly watched as the four-time chief minister is expected to face tough competition from C. Lalramzauva, an advocate and a nominee of the opposition Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA).

But, Lalthanhawla, who is contesting from Serchhip and

Hrangturzo, said he is confident about securing a win for the Congress Party in the state again.

In all, 32 sitting Congress MLAs have been given tickets for the November 25 elections. The Congress is contesting all 40 assembly seats.

Presently the Hrangturzo seat is held by Lalthansanga of the Mizoram's People's Conference.

The Congress which bagged 32 seats in the 2008 assembly polls re-nominated all its MLAs except former minister Nirupam Chakma.

Lathanhawla had contested and won six times from this seat and lost only once in 1998 to a retired engineer K Thangzuala of the Mizo National Front (MNF).

This time, MDA, the three-party alliance of the MNF, Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF) is trying to repeat the 1998 debacle of the chief minister.

In 2008, Lalramzauva, who contested the polls from Serchhip constituency on a Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) ticket, lost to Lalthanhawla by a margin of 952 votes. He lost by a margin of 1,399 votes in 2003.

Lalthanhawla told media in Aizawl that he is fighting the elections on the development plank.