Urge first-time voters to exercise franchise: Modi


New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called upon the people of Mizoram, especially the young and first-time voters to exercise their franchise and strengthen the festival of democracy as Mizoram goes to vote.

“I call upon the people of Mizoram to vote in record numbers. I particularly urge the young and first time voters to exercise their franchise and strengthen the festival of democracy,” the Prime Minister said in a post on ‘X’.

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also urged the youth, to come out and vote in large numbers. “I urge our sisters and brothers in Mizoram, especially the youth, to come out and vote in large numbers. Each and every vote will lay the foundation of a developed and prosperous Mizoram,” Shah said in a post on ‘X’.

The 40-member state assembly is the only poll-bound state where the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are not the primary contenders. In the 2018 assembly elections, the Mizo National Front (MNF) secured 26 seats with a vote share of 37.8 per cent and emerged victorious, defeating the 10-year-old Congress government. The Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM), the regional party that surprisingly came in second in the 2018 polls, bagged eight seats.