Newly elected MNF legislator 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.
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 bypoll to Tuirial seat held on October 3.
Results were announced on November 2.
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 is 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 bypoll.
None of the 663 Bru voters, who are living in Tripura transit camps, cast their votes.
Poll pundits had said that Tuirial bypoll was one of the hottest contests in assembly bypolls in the political history of the state.
The bypoll to Tuirial seat was necessitated due to the death of its incumbent MLA Andrew H. Thangliana, who was allied with ZPM, in August.
In the present 40-member assembly, the ruling MNF now has 28 members, Congress (5), ZPM and BJP have 1 member each and 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.