By TwoCircles.net Special Correspondent,
Aizwal: Even as the date of sealing the fate of 142 candidates for 40 seats in Mizoram is approaching, several revealing facts seem to make the assembly polls interesting. Come November 25, when the election takes, Mizoram will witness more number of female voters than males unlike most of the Indian states.
However, women candidates are as low as six whereas there was not a single MLA in the last session. According to the voters’ lists published on August 16, of the 6,86,305 total voters, there are 3,49,506 female voters and 3,36,799 male voters.
In the 2008 final electoral roll also, of the total 6.08,561 voters, female voters comprised 3,08,659 against 2,99,902 male voters.
The only three women politicians who have been able to win are Lalthanmawi of the People’s Conference, elected from the then Aizawl East seat in 1979 and K Thansiami of the PC (earlier nominated to the assembly in 1978) who was elected from the Aizawl West seat in 1984 since Mizoram began to have a separate legislature of its own in 1972.
While, Lalhlimpuii Hmar is the first and only woman to become a minister and the last woman to make it to the Mizoram assembly till date. She was elected in 1987 as the Mizo National Front (MNF) nominee from Aizawl North-I constituency.
Then if we talk about the wealth, Mizoram politicians seem to be one of the richest in the country with R Lalawia of Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) declaring assets worth Rs 68.69 crore, including movable assets worth Rs 61.65 lakh.
Similarly, K Sangthuama of Mizo National Front (MNF) has assets of worth Rs 25.57 crore and Rinzawna of ZNP with assets worth Rs 12.19 crore. The average asset per candidate contesting in Mizoram is Rs 2.31 crore. Records say that in Chhattisgarh, crorepatis in the electoral arena are just 20.65 per cent. Of 983 candidates, those who have assets worth more than Rs one crore are 203.
The poorest is BJP’s Biakmawia contesting from Aizawl North-III. He has a little more than Rs 10,000 with him. Chief minister Lal Thanhawla shows he has Rs 89,86,247 in different banks while his wife Lal Riliani has accounts and movable property worth Rs 85,59,733.
As far as crimes are concerned, the political fraternity in the state is not involved much in illegal activities with just three candidates having criminal background.
Earlier, all the political parties and others had requested the EC that the date of polling should be pre-pond from December 4 to November 25 and the date of counting from December 8 to December 4. The reason is December 8 is Sunday, a day the sacred day for the Christians, while December 4 marks the start of the Presbyterian Church’s five-day annual Synod conference.