Mizoram, a state with the second highest literacy rate in the country, goes to polls today with 209 candidates (including 15 women candidates) in the fray for the 40-member Legislative Assembly. Voting began at 7 am and will end at 4 pm.

• Altogether 209 candidates are in fray (Congress- 40, Mizo National Fronts- 40, BJP- 39, Prism Party-13, National People’s Party-09, Nationalist Congress Party-04, Independents- 64)
• CM Lal Thanhawla of Congress is a former insurgent-turned-mainstream politician. Over the years Mizoram has been witnessing a bipolar battle between the Congress and the Mizo National Front.
• A total of 7,70,395 electorates (includes 3,94,897 female voters) would seal the fate
• Unlike others states, voters in Mizroam are given benches to sit while waiting for their turn.
• Previously, in the 2013 elections in Mizoram, the Congress party won 34 of 40 seats. But since 2014, the Congress' vote share declined 13.4 percentage points across the northeast.