AIZAWL: Ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate K Laldawngliana won the by-election to the Tuirial assembly constituency held on October 30 by defeating his nearest rival Laltlanmawia of the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) by 1,284 votes.
Counting of votes was conducted at Kolasib town, the district headquarters of Kolasib district on the Assam border from 8 am on Tuesday.
Laldawngliana secured 5,820 votes, while Laltlanmawia bagged 4,536 votes, followed by Chalrosanga Ralte of the Indian National Congress (INC) who got 3,927 votes. BJP nominee K Laldinthara managed to get barely 246 votes and forfeited his security deposit.
Laldawngliana, 49, who got his master degree (MA) from the University of Pune in 2001, was chairman of the
Mizoram Federation of Cooperative Societies (MIZOFED) before he joined active politics and was nominated as the candidate of the MNF.
Except for Ralte, all the other three candidates were new faces and contested the election for the first time.
With the people's verdict in the bypoll, the MNF has now increased its strength in the 40-member state legislature with 28 members, while the ZPM now has six members, Congress five legislators and BJP one.
Bypoll to the Tuirial assembly seat was necessitated by the demise of the sitting legislator Andrew H Thangliana of the ZPM.
Three by-elections have been held in the state after the general elections to the state legislative assembly in late 2018, of which the ruling MNF won two seats and the ZPM one.
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