Aizawl: Newly elected K. Laldawngliana, who won in the recently-concluded Tuirial (ST) assembly seat bypoll, was sworn in as an MLA of the Mizoram assembly on Friday.
Assembly Speaker Lalrinliana Sailo administered the oath of office and secrecy to K. Laldawngliana in a brief ceremony held at the Assembly Annexe building here in Aizawl.
Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his cabinet colleagues and a host of MLAs attended the swearing-in ceremony.
K. Laldawngliana, who had contested the by-poll on the ruling MNF ticket, won a thumping victory by defeating his nearest rival Laltlanmawia of Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) by a margin of 1,284 votes.
He secured 5,820 votes of the total 14,590 (39.9%) valid votes. Four candidates had contested the by-poll to Tuirial seat held on October 3.
While Laltlanmawia had secured 4,536 votes (31.1%), Congress nominee Chalrosanga Ralte finished at third spot by securing 3,927 votes (26.9%). BJP candidate K. Laldinthara managed to secure 246 votes, which was 1.7 per cent of the total valid votes.
There were 17,911 electorates in Tuirial constituency and over 81 per cent of them have cast their votes in the by-poll.
None of the 663 Bru voters, who are living in Tripura transit camps, cast their votes.
Poll pundits had said that Tuirial by-poll was one of the hottest contests in assembly by-polls in the political history of the state.
The by-poll to Tuirial seat was necessitated due to the death of its incumbent MLA Andrew H. Thangliana, who was allied with ZPM, in August.
After winning the Tuirial seat, the MNF tally in the present 40-member assembly has gone up to 28, While Congress has 5 members, ZPM and BJP have 1 member each.
There are 5 independent MLAs, who are allied with the ZPM.
Though originally belonged to ZPM, the 5 MLAs had contested and won the last assembly polls on independent tickets as the ZPM did not obtain registration at that time.
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