Photo Courtesy: nenews
Aizawl: Mizoram’s influential student body, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), is challenging claims that the state’s electoral rolls are accurate. They report massive, lopsided growth in voter numbers. The dispute centers on the Special Intensive Revision 2026. The MZP analyzed draft rolls published July 4. They found alarming spikes in Chakma-majority villages.
Growth in these areas hit 50 to 376 percent. By contrast, Mizo-majority villages saw modest increases of 10 to 20 percent. Take Sumasumi village in Lunglei district. Its registered electors jumped from 52 in 2005 to 248 today. That is a 376.92 percent increase. The MZP examined 95 villages. Seven saw growth over 200 percent. Another 16 spiked over 100 percent. The group also claims mapping errors exist across five Assembly constituencies.
These allegations contradict former Chief Electoral Officer Garima Gupta. She recently stated, "We do not see any case of a foreign national being entered in the electoral roll. As per the draft roll, there is no large increase or abnormal growth in voter numbers." Gupta was transferred to Delhi on July 9, shortly after these remarks. She had taken the post on May 18.
The Young Mizo Association (YMA) joined the fray on Tuesday. Its leaders identified what they called improbable anomalies in how Enumeration Forms were digitized. President R. Lalngheta intends to submit a formal memorandum seeking a deep investigation. The YMA warns that poor oversight could allow ineligible people to slip onto the rolls.
The draft rolls currently list 8,28,906 electors, including 4,29,881 women. Officials could not collect enumeration forms for 46,163 voters. Of those, 21,295 are confirmed dead, 13,978 shifted away, 8,333 are missing, and 2,248 are registered elsewhere. Another 309 declined enrollment for religious reasons. Political parties in Aizawl now demand that any name lacking a 2005 linkage be deleted. They want all questionable entries verified by civil society. The window for claims and objections remains open until August 4.
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