Aizawl, April 11 (IANS) About 45 percent of the electorate cast their vote for the lone Lok Sabha seat from Mizoram and an assembly by-poll in the first seven hours of polling Friday, officials said here.
Mizoram's joint chief electoral officer H. Lalengmawia said the polling was so far peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the state that borders Myanmar and Bangladesh besides Tripura and Assam.
"Around 45 percent polling was recorded till 2 p.m.," he said.
Polling for both the Lok Sabha and the assembly seat was earlier scheduled April 9 but was postponed to Friday due to a three-day shutdown and boycott call by NGOs and students' groups in Mizoram to protest voting by tribal refugees through postal ballot in Tripura relief camps.
"Voting was delayed in some polling stations after Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) developed technical snags. The ECIL (Electronic Corporation of India) engineers immediately either rectified the EVMs or replaced them and the balloting continued as usual," the official told IANS.
Quoting reports from the districts, he said: "Young, new and women voters queued up much before the polling stations opened at 7 a.m. First time voters were very excited after casting their ballot."
The polling will end at 5 p.m., one hour more than the earlier elections.
Mizoram's lone Lok Sabha constituency this time will witness a triangular battle between incumbent C.L. Ruala of the Congress, Robert Romawia Royte of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and M. Lalmanzuala of the Aam Aadmi Party.
The main opposition UDF is an alliance of eight parties led by the Mizo National Front (MNF), which ruled the state for two terms (1998-2003 and 2003-08). The UDF is supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The MNF had won the Lok Sabha seat, reserved for tribals, in 2004.
The by-election for the Hrangturzo assembly seat is also being held Friday. It was necessitated after Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, who won from two constituencies in the assembly polls held Nov 25, vacated the seat.
Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu of the Congress is pitted against UDF leader H. Lalduhawma, who unsuccessfully contested the last election from the same seat.
With a population of 1,091,014, Mizoram has a 702,189-strong electorate, including 355,954 women, who would decide the fate of three candidates in the lone Lok Sabha constituency.
Around 4,500 polling personnel have been engaged at 1,126 polling stations, of which 385 centres, mainly in urban areas, would use the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system with the electronic voting machines.
The VVPAT, which was used in 10 assembly segments in last year's polls in Mizoram, confirm the voting.
Polling in Mizoram was deferred to Friday due to the shutdown. Six voluntary organisations and students' groups led by the Young Mizo Association called the three-day state-wide strike from April 7 and urged people to boycott the polls protesting the Election Commission's decision to allow tribal refugees in Tripura to cast their votes through postal ballot.
Of the over 36,000 Reang tribal refugees living in seven camps in Tripura for the past 17 years after fleeing their villages in Mizoram, 11,500 were on electoral rolls in Mizoram and 71 percent of them voted through postal ballot last week.
In view of a threat by NGOs to obstruct counting of postal ballot papers in Aizawl, the poll panel decided to count them in Kanchanpur in north Tripura May 16, Kanchanpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate Nantu Das told IANS.
The Reang tribals - locally known as Bru - fled their villages in Mizoram and took shelter in neighbouring Tripura in October 1997 after an ethnic conflict broke out with the majority Mizos over the killing of a Mizo forest official.
Pakistan: PAK security forces were guarding the Balochistan-Iran border, terrorists were targeted, and 4 soldiers killed
On Wednesday, terrorists carried out a cowardly act on Pakistan's border with Iran. Terrorists have attacked a convoy of Pakistani security forces. In which four soldiers have died. Inter-Services
Modi greeted like a star in US: Obama
New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) US President Barack Obama Sunday said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted like a "star" in the US."Last year at the Madison Square Garden PM Modi was
Cara Delevingne goes Topless for Jewellery Ad
Los Angeles, Jan 22 (IANS) Model and actress Cara Delevingne has posed topless for a new advertising campaign.The 22-year-old took to Instagram Wednesday, to share a preview of the racy photoshoot
Russia-Ukraine War Updates: Russia's warning to America - stop giving arms to Ukraine; America said - no one can stop us
52 days have passed since the Ukrainian war. Many civilians along with soldiers have lost their lives in Ukraine amid the Russian attack. According to the Kyiv police, the bodies of more than 900
Rishi Sunak: Kalawa in hand and entry into 10 Downing Street, British PM Sunak looked like this in the first speech
Indian-origin Hindu Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has taken over the power of Britain. Even though he may be the British Prime Minister, his religious roots are still associated with India. The leader of
Anurag Thakur's taunt on changing the seat of Swami Prasad Maurya, who changed the party, said - the fear of losing is haunting
Union Minister Anurag Thakur has targeted the change of the seat of Swami Prasad Maurya, who left the Bharatiya Janata Party and joined the SP. Anurag Thakur has said that Swami Prasad Maurya (SP MLA)
Arsenic-hit Bengal village adopts French model for safe water
Kolkata, Feb 2 (IANS) Thanks to an innovative French technology that purifies contaminated water from lakes and ponds, residents of an arsenic-contaminated village in West Bengal now have access
India's gig economy is growing, how will the entire ecosystem flourish?
Four years ago today, in 2019, the Periodic Labor Force Survey report (PLFS) disclosed India's unemployment rate. In this report, it was said that the unemployment rate in the country would increase
IND vs NZ Playing 11: India's 11 players are fixed but Kiwis can change their tactics in the semi-finals, know the possible playing 11
The first semi-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is between India and New Zealand. These two teams are meeting in the semi-finals for the second consecutive time in the history of the ODI
Salman Khan Death Threat: What did Salman Khan say on the question Mumbai Police regarding the threat? Learn
Salman Khan Death Threat: In the case of threats received by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, the Mumbai Police has recorded his statement. During this, the police asked him many questions. The police