Mizoram: Political parties gear up for upcoming Mara Autonomous District Council election

Various political parties, including the Mizo National Front (MNF), Mizoram's ruling party, have released candidate names for the upcoming Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) election on May 5.

The MNF, Congress, and BJP have candidates for all 25 seats, while the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), which is contesting for the first time in these elections, have selected eight candidates for the council elections.

The ZPM and BJP have released the name of their candidates on Wednesday, while the MNF announced their contenders name on Tuesday.

The BJP is currently in power in the Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC). 

According to the state BJP President Vanlalhmuaka, The BJP  party will retain power in the Mara council who announced the party's candidates at an event on Wednesday.

He expected that the BJP would win 15 to 17 seats in the upcoming elections. "It is great that the ZPM is contesting eight seats in its debut," said ZPM working president K. Sapdanga on Wednesday, releasing the party's candidates. We're pleased because the party has made progress."

To ensure a free and fair election, he stressed the party would follow the constitution of India and the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the Mizoram People's Forum (MPF), a church-backed poll watchdog.

The MADC's 25 members will be polled on May 5 and the results would be counted on May 9.The deadline for filing nomination papers ended on Wednesday, while the deadline for withdrawing from the candidature is April 18.

The MADC has  25 constituencies with 81 polling stations. In the upcoming elections, 42,326 electorates, including 21,960 female voters, will exercise their franchise, according to the final roll issued on March 29.

Congress secured a simple majority after obtaining 17 seats in the May 2017 council election, while the MNF and the Mara Democratic Front (MDF) alliance won seven. A seat was also won by an independent candidate.When the ethnic-based party merged with the saffron party, MDF members joined the BJP.

In June 2019, the council was taken over by the BJP after all of the Congress members moved to the saffron party. N. Zakhai, the Chief Executive Member, is currently in charge (CEM).

MADC was constituted in 1972 for the Mara people of Mizoram and is headquartered in Siaha in the state's southern region and there are 25 elected members and three nominated members on the MADC council.