Zoramthanga Resigns As MNF Chief After 33 Years Over Poll Defeat

Mizoram's outgoing chief minister Zoramthanga on Tuesday resigned as the Mizo National Front (MNF) president after a 33-year-long stint as its chief, following the party's defeat in the assembly polls.

Defying exit polls predictions, some had predicted a hung house in Mizoram, the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), which got registered as a political party only in 2019, won 27 of the 40 assembly constituencies in the state.

The MNF got only 10 seats this election, down from its tally of 26 in the 2018 assembly polls.

In his resignation letter sent to MNF senior vice president Tawnluia, Zoramthanga said he took moral responsibility as the president of the party for its poll debacle.

"The MNF failed to win the state assembly polls. In this regard, I take moral responsibility as party chief. Considering that it is my obligation as the MNF president, I do hereby tender resignation from the president post and kindly request you to accept the same," the 79-year-old leader said in the letter.

The party, said an MNF leader, will hold a meeting on Wednesday to decide whether or not to accept Zoramthanga's resignation.

Zoramthanga, who succeeded Laldenga as MNF president in 1990, lost his Aizawl East-I seat to ZPM vice president Lalthansanga by a margin of 2,101 votes.