AIZAWL, May 14 – Despite several political parties forming an alliance to defeat the ruling Mizo National Front in the lone Lok Sabha seat in the State, the Front emerged winner. MNF's Vanlalzawma defeated his main rival Laltluangliana Khiangte, an independent backed by Congress, the Mizoram People's Congress (MPC) and the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP), by a margin of 23,694 votes, a huge margin for a total electorate of five lakh. Vanlalzawma polled 1,82,864 votes and Khiangte secured 1,59,170 while Tlangdingliana of Ephraim Union managed to get only 6,514.
This time, the MNF polled 52.95 per cent, while the three Opposition combine secured 46.09 per cent and Ephraim Union made its presence known by 1.89 per cent of the votes in the election to the State's lone Lok Sabha seat. Victory of the MNF was attributed to the pro-incumbency factor, personal popularity of its candidate and the fact that the opposition alliance could not successfully work together. Going by statistics of the 40-member State Assembly polls held on November 20, 2003 where the MNF led by State Chief Minister Zoramthanga managed to retain power by a wafer-thin majority, the MNF victory against the formidable opposition combine this time was next to a miracle.
The MNF which bagged 21 seats secured 31.69 per cent of the votes polled in the Assembly polls, while the Congress came very close with 30.06 per cent, but could manage to get only 12 candidates elected. The MPC which bagged three seats secured 16.16 per cent while its pre-poll partner the ZNP had two seats with 14.70 per cent votes. The total percentage of votes polled by the three major Opposition parties in the State Assembly elections was 60.92 per cent and the three party combine looked invincible for the MNF in the Lok Sabha polls and the Kolasib Assembly by-poll.