AIZAWL: Mizoram State Election Commission announced elections to Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC), a district council of Mara tribes based in south Mizoram’s Siaha district.  

The date of polling to the 25–member council would be held on May 5 between 7 am and 5 pm and counting of votes would take place on May 9, the state election commission’s notification said.  

The last date for filing nomination papers was fixed on April 13, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature was April 18, the notification said. 

Scrutiny of nomination papers would be conducted on April 13, it said. 

Election process was scheduled to be completed by 11 May and the first meeting of the new council was scheduled on 13 May. 

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There are 25 constituencies and 81 polling stations in MADC. 

According to the final roll published on March 29, a total of 42,326 electorates, including 21,960 female voters, will exercise their franchise in the upcoming polls. 

Siaha East-II constituency has the highest voters at 2,808, while Amohtlah constituency has the least at 1,049, the commission said. 

MADC is one of the three ADCs constituted under the sixth schedule in the southern part of the state. 

It was bifurcated from the erstwhile Pawi-Lakher regional council as Lakher Autonomous District Council in 1972 for the Mara people of the state.  

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It got its present name in 1988. The council has 25 elected and 3 nominated members. 

In the last council poll held in May 2017, Congress had won a landslide victory by securing 17 seats, while the Mizo National Front (MNF) and Mara Democratic Front (MDF) combine won 7 and one independent candidate had also been declared elected.  

Later, the MDF members joined BJP when the ethnic based party merged with the saffron party. 

The council came under BJP since June 2019 when all Congress members defected to the saffron party and it is now headed by N. Zakhai as Chief Executive Member (CEM). 

The BJP now has 17 members in the 25- member council, MNF (6) and Congress (2).