R Lalthangliana, who was a minister in the Zoramthanga-led Mizo National Front government, which was ousted from power in 2023, is now returning to the Mizoram Legislative Assembly after winning the Damba bypoll on Friday.
Lalthangliana won the Damba poll, defeating the ruling Zoram People’s Movement candidate, gospel singer Vanelsilova, by 562 votes. With this, the MNF retained one of the only 10 seats it won in 2023 amid the ZPM wave in the state.
For Lalthangliana, this will be his seventh time as a legislator. When the ZPM swept the state in 2023, it had lost its South Toibui seat to ZPM candidate and political novice, popular footballer Gigi Lalpekhlua. He said that he sees his victory as a return to respect for political experience and seniority.
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“ZPM promised many things before the 2023 elections, but the commitments are yet to be fulfilled. People are already dissatisfied after two years. I have traveled across the entire constituency several times since the moment my nomination was finalised, and I am the most senior legislator from our party. I have been an MLA since the 1980s and a cabinet minister for 15 years. So people voted for someone with experience and maturity,” he told The Indian Express.
The MNF views this victory as a positive signal ahead of local elections scheduled to be held in the coming months: the Lae Autonomous District Council elections scheduled for next month, and the Aizawl Municipal Corporation elections early next year.
“We read this as a reflection of the mood and opinion of the people of Mizoram in general, as this result has come two years after the current government took office. This result will directly impact the upcoming elections,” MNF Robert Rumawya Ruiti said.
The result maintains the status quo in the 40-member Mizoram Legislative Council, where the ZPM holds 27 seats, the MNF 10, the BJP two and the Congress one. ZPM won the 2023 legislative council elections, its first as a recognized political party, breaking a decades-long pattern of the state oscillating between the MNF and Congress periodically.
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While the ZPM came second in the bypoll, the Congress came third with its candidate, another former minister, John Rutlwanjaliana, and the BJP’s Lalhamingthanga came fourth.
(Marks for translation) Dampa poll result
