Congress wins Mizoram Assembly seat

Aizawl: Former Mizoram health minister Lal Thanzara of Congress was on Tuesday declared elected in the bypoll to Aizawl North-III Assembly seat with a thumping majority.

Lal Thanzara, who is the younger brother of Chief minister Lal Thanhawla, scored 1,498 more votes than the total number of votes secured by Mizo National Front candidate K Vanlalvena and NDA nominee Lalduhawma.

While Lal Thanzara scored 6,175 votes followed by Vanlalvena who bagged 2,790 votes, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee Lalduhawma managed to get 1,887 votes and NOTA at 64 votes.

The by-poll in the constituency was necessitated by the resignation of Lal Thanzara as a legislator and health minister on August 18 last due to allegations of 'conflict of interests'.

It was alleged that the younger brother of the state CM held more than 21 per cent shares in a construction company which bagged crores of rupees worth road construction works under the state government.

Lal Thanzara's HP Food Products company was also alleged to have supplied crores of rupees worth nutrition items to the state Social Welfare department while being Parliamentary Secretary and later a minister of state.

Justifying his resignation, Lal Thanzara had said that allegations against him, though baseless and false, had caused embarrassment to the government and the Congress party.