Congress releases candidates for Mizoram polls, gives tickets to four out of five sitting MLAs

The list was announced on a day Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took part in a road show in the state capital Aizawl.

Guwahati: CCongress on Monday released its list of candidates for all 40 Assembly constituencies in Mizoram, polling for which is scheduled for November 7.

The party gave tickets to four out of five sitting MLAs while it replaced the MLA in Palak Assembly constituency, KT Rokhaw with a new candidate IP Junior. 

The list was announced on a day Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took part in a road show in state capital Aizawl. Gandhi is on a two-day visit to the poll-bound state. Gandhi also addressed a public rally on Monday afternoon. 

The party gave tickets to two women candidates and two belonging to the minority Chakma community. Sitting MLA Nihar Kanti Chakma has been given a ticket for West Tuipui while Hara Prasad Chakma has been fielded for Tuichowang, another constituency having a sizable Chakma population. 

Congress was in power in Mizoram between 2008 and 2018. But the Mizo National Front (MMF) stormed back to power in 2018 by unseating the Lal Thanhawla-led Congress government. Congress managed to win only five out of 40 Assembly seats.

The 2023 Assembly elections are considered to be a fight between MNF and Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), a relatively new regional party, which contested as a forum of a few other similar parties in 2018 and bagged eight seats.

Congress leaders, however, said it is going to be a three-cornered contest among MNF, Congress and ZPM. But lack of strong leaders at the state level is believed to be its biggest problem ahead of Assembly elections. Congress' alleged failure to harp on the issue of "Zo Unification" is considered to be another minus point of the grand old party in the poll-bound state.