A landslide change of government
What happened
Power in Mizoram changed hands again, this time in a landslide that left the incoming government firmly in control.
The Indian National Congress won 32 of the 40 seats.
The outgoing Mizo National Front collapsed to just 3 seats.
It was the party's best showing in the state to that point.
What changed
The scale of the change shows up clearly in the seat count alone.
The INC's own seats rose from 12 to 32.
That was a gain of 20 seats in a single election.
Turnout climbed too, with about 82.2% of registered voters turning out to cast a ballot — the highest the state had recorded to that point.
Notable numbers
A few numbers from that election stand out.
The tightest finish: Aizawl South I, Mizoram was decided by just 28 votes — the narrowest margin, how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second, anywhere in the state that year.
At the other extreme, Hachhek, Mizoram was won by a margin of 19.5% of the vote.
Tuichawng, Mizoram had the largest pool of registered voters anywhere in the state, 22,089 in all.
Mamit, Mizoram drew the most crowded ballot in the state, with 11 candidates standing.
The backdrop
This extended a pattern that had held since the state's earliest years, with power passing back and forth between the same rival parties.