GUWAHATI: For 64-year-old Zoramthanga, a former underground leader who had returned to mainstream through the historic Mizo Peace Accord of 1986, there had never been such a major disaster as the one he faced on Monday; not even during the worst days of insurgency when the Indian Air Force was called in to bombard Aizawl to flush out his armed cadres in the mid-1960s.
Defeated in both the constituencies and left with just three seats in a House of 40, this chief architect of the Mizo Accord on the side …

AIZAWL: The Mizoram Assembly elections on Tuesday saw voting over 72 per cent.
Joint Chief Electoral Officer Lalhmingthanga told The Hindu that the provisional poll percentage was 72 when reports last came in. “However, the final percentage is sure to go up as there were long queues in a large number of polling stations of Aizawl and other towns even after the polling hours were over,” he said.
Mr. Lalhmingthanga said the elections were peaceful and there was no report of any untoward incident from any of the 1,026 polling stations in …

AIZAWL: Women in the Mizo society have always been described as its backbone. But for the first time in the history of Mizoram this fact will be prominently visible in polls on Tuesday (Dec.2).
Over 10 women candidates have filed their nomination, which is the highest ever in the history of Mizo State Assembly.
It is likely that people will remember the 2008 Mizoram Assembly elections for the number of women candidates in the fray.
Drawn from diverse backgrounds and from different age groups - these women candidates have initiated an era of …

NEW DELHI: Returning to the NDA fold, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Thursday formally joined hands with the BJP with both parties vowing to put up a united fight against the ruling Congress in Assam in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“The BJP and AGP will work together in the forthcoming elections to the Lok Sabha to free Assam from the tyranny of the Congress misrule,” senior BJP leader L K Advani said here.
“Both subscribe to the view that to save India we must save Assam. To achieve that BJP …

AIZAWL: Text messages on mobile phones are the most popular mode of seeking votes in Mizoram, which goes to the polls early next month to elect a new state assembly.
“Sending text messages through mobile phones is the main mode of campaigning this time. Candidates are also sending their election symbols through SMS to make the voters aware,” said Vanlalremruata, a senior journalist and campaigner for inexpensive poll campaigns.
The election to the 40-seat Mizoram assembly is scheduled for Dec 2 and the results are expected Dec 8.
The influential Mizoram People’s Forum …

AIZAWL: The Seventh Day Adventist Christians and the Mizo-Jew community in Mizoram have expressed resentment against the Election Commission’s fixing November 29, a Sabbath day, for the state Assembly elections.
The Seventh Day Adventist Mizoram Conference, the Church of God International, the Church of God Seventh Day and the Bnei Manashe have made a joint appeal to the Election Commission to either change the polling date or extend the duration of voting.
”We have submitted a letter to the Chief Election Commission to at least open the polling stations after sunset, if …

GANGTOK: In a new political development, the Sikkim National Peoples’ Party (SNPP) was on Wednesday formally launched expressing its resolve to protect and promote the identity of the Sikkimese people by seeking restoration of the associate state status for the himalayan state as was the case prior to its merger with India in 1975.
Addressing a press conference after the launch of the SNPP, its President Biraj Adhikari defended his party’s stand for review of Sikkim’s merger on the ground that the grant of the associate state status was necessary for …

GUWAHATI: In a swift and dramatic development late on Sunday evening that is bound to have far reaching impact of Assam politic, the general council of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) unanimously elected Chandra Mohan Patowary as its new president dislodging the incumbent president Brindaban Goswami.
The AGP’s General Council meeting that witness many a sparks fly on Sunday evening had earlier put its seal of approval on merger of its breakaway factions including the Asom Gana Parishad (Progressive) led by former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta thereby clearing the decks …