Mizoram polls live: Around 50% voting recorded till 1.30 pm

2.00 pm About 50 percent cast votes About 50 percent of the electorate have exercised their right to franchise by 1.30 pm in Mizoram as per the latest reports. The state is voting for its 40-seat Assembly since 7 am today. “Polling began at 7 a.m. with men and women queuing up in large numbers to cast their votes in the 40 assembly constituencies,” said Mawia, the joint chief electoral officer of Mizoram. Mawia said new voters and women appeared the most enthusiastic. 10.50 am: Brisk polling in Mizoram, say officials Polling for the 40-seat assembly elections in the northeastern state of Mizoram began Monday amid tight security, officials said. The polling was brisk in most parts of the mountainous state. “Men and women dressed with their traditional clothing in large numbers queued up in front of polling stations well before voting opened at 7 am in the entire state. Polling ends at 4pm,” said a Mizoram election department official. 9.58 am: NLFT militants kidnap three in Mizoram At least three people were kidnapped by the outlawed tribal guerillas from a village in Mamit district of western Mizoram, police said Monday. “Suspected NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) militants abducted the three people at gun point from Damparengpui village along Tripura-Mizoram and Bangladesh border in Mamit district Saturday night,” a police official told reporters in Aizawl. The police officer said that the armed NLFT rebels abducted Deep Mondal, an official of a Delhi-based telecom company, Sanglianthanga, a resident of Mamit district who was driving Mondal’s vehicle and a driver of another vehicle. - IANS [caption id=“attachment_1248009” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] 9.55 am: 94 of Mizoram’s 140 seats are ‘critical’ in terms of security Security agencies have identified 94 constituencies, mostly in border areas, as ‘critical’ where security has been beefed up. An additional 31 companies of central paramilitary forces and state police of neighbouring states have been deployed to oversee the polls, apart from seven armed battalions of the state police, reports PTI. Security has been tightened all along the Manipur border and along the unfenced 64-km border near the tri-junction of Mizoram, Tripura and Bangladesh in Mamit district. 9.10 am: Mizoram polls begin amid tight security The Mizoram polls stand out for two reasons – one is the first-ever use of the VVPAT machine, to help voters check if their vote was cast as intended and the other is that it is the only Indian state where the number of women voters outnumbers the men. Of the state’s population of 10.91 lakh, around 6.91 lakh, including 3.5 lakh are women voters. There are 142 candidates in the fray for 40 seats. Among the aspirants, only six are women. “Men and women dressed with their traditional clothing in large numbers queued up in front of polling stations well before voting opened at 7 am in the entire state. Polling ends at 4 pm,” said a Mizoram election department official to IANS. Of the 40 assembly seats, 39 are reserved for tribals. One seat is for general category.