Guwahati: The Congress on Tuesday lost its last bastion in the Northeast as Mizo National Front (MNF) storm into power by winning 26 out of 40 seats.
Former rebel leader turned politician and MNF president Zoramthanga defeated independent candidate K. Sapdanga by 2,504 votes. He is set to be the next chief minister of Mizoram. This will be his third term as the chief minister as he has held the same position from 1998 to 2008.
The MNF won 26 seats in the 40-member assembly, a gain of 21 seats since 2013. The Congress managed to bag only five seats compared to 34 seats it won in the 2013 assembly elections.
MNF president Zoramthanga accompanied by top party leaders met Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan at the Raj Bhavan here in the evening and staked claim to form the government.
Party sources said the governor told Zoramthanga that he was yet to receive the official letter from the Election Commission and hoped that he would be able to invite the MNF to form the government by Wednesday afternoon.
Outgoing chief minister Lal Thanhawla suffered defeats from both the seats he contested, including his home turf Serchip. He also lost from Champai South constituency. The MNF, previously an underground outfit, had signed the Mizo Accord in 1986 with the central government renouncing secession and violence and its leader Laldenga became the chief minister.
The MNF led by Zoramthanga, a former underground, had won the assembly elections in 1998 and 2003. It is now a constituent of the North East Democratic Alliance, formed by the BJP.
The BJP opened its account in the Christian-dominated state as the party candidate and former minister Buddha Dhan Chakma won from the Chakma-dominated Tuichawng seat in south Mizoram's Lawngtlai district.
