Aizawl : Chief Minister and ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga on Friday exuded confidence that his party will retain power in Mizoram as people appreciated the work done by the party.
“I have high hope that we will able to form the government. We are optimistic of retaining power in Mizoram and will secure more than 25 seats. People have appreciated the works done by us over the last five years despite financial constraints and several hurdles,” Zoramthanga told journalists after filing his nomination papers for the upcoming Assembly elections slated to be held on November 7.
The 79- year-old Mizo politician is confident that he will retain his Aizawl East-1 seat and win by a greater margin than the previous assembly polls.
In the 2018 assembly polls, Zoramthanga had won the Aizawl East-1 seat defeating his nearest rival, ZPM-backed independent candidate K Sapdanga, by a margin of 2,504 votes.
The former rebel leader-turned politician revealed that the opposition party Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), which was formed to create a political alternative to the MNF and the Congress, poses a potential threat to the MNF rather than the grand-old Congress party.
“The Congress and BJP may get some seats or they may not win any seats. I believed that the ZPM are slightly better than the Congress,” the MNF supremo said.
Pooh-poohed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claimed that both MNF and ZPM were “instruments for the BJP and RSS to enter”
Mizoram, Zoramthanga said, ““We have an MNF ideology not an RSS ideology. MNF does come under the control of any other party.”
Friday was the last day for filing of nominations. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on Saturday and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is October 23.
Elections to the 40-member assembly will be held on November 7 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3.
