BJP sweeps Arunachal with landslide; Khandu likely to continue as CM
Ten BJP candidates, including CM Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein, had won unopposed and polling took place in the rest 50 seats on April 19
Guwahati: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Arunachal Pradesh won the assembly polls with a landslide on Sunday, bagging 46 of the total 60 seats. Chief minister Pema Khandu, who has been at the helm since 2016, is expected to get another term at the post.
National Peoples’ Party (NPP), which is a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, came second with five seats, Nationalist Congress Party (NPP) won three, Peoples’ Party of Arunachal (PPA) bagged two, Congress won one and the remaining three seats were secured by Independent candidates.
Ten BJP candidates, including CM Khandu, and his deputy Chowna Mein, had won their seats unopposed and the party won 36 of the rest 50 seats polling for which took place on April 19.
“Thank you Arunachal Pradesh! The people of this wonderful state have given an unequivocal mandate to the politics of development. My gratitude to them for reposing their faith in BJP yet again. Our party will keep working with even greater vigour for the state’s growth,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a message on X.
Talking to journalists in Itanagar, Khandu thanked voters for reposing faith in the BJP again and said the results reflected the good work done by the party’s governments at the Centre under PM Modi and in the state. He said that the oath-taking ceremony of the new government would be decided after the Lok Sabha election results are out on June 4.
The BJP’s win was almost certain even before counting started as the party had bagged 10 seats unopposed. The ruling party was the only one which had fielded candidates in all 60 seats. The Congress, which was the biggest party till the BJP took that position nearly a decade back, had put up candidates in only 19 seats.
“In Arunachal Pradesh, voters prefer to favour the party in power and the results were a continuation of that trend. We had named 34 candidates for this election, but only 19 remained in the fray. Others withdrew from the contest due to the influence of money power,” said former CM and state Congress president, Nabam Tuki.
The NPP contested independently in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly polls, the party fielded only 20 candidates, making it easier for the BJP’s return to power. In the event of the BJP not getting the required 31 seats needed to form the government, NPP was expected to extend support.
“As of now, no date has been fixed for the swearing-in ceremony of the next chief minister and his cabinet, but it is expected to take place after June 6 after results for the Lok Sabha polls are available,” BJP state spokesperson Techi Necha said.
The election commission had preponed counting of votes for the assembly elections to Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim by two days as the tenure of the two assemblies was set to expire on June 2.
Counting of votes for the two Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh will take place on June 4 along with the rest of the country.
Arunachal Pradesh witnessed 82.95% voter turnout on April 19, when the polls were held.
In 2019, the ruling party retained power by winning 41 seats, Janata Dal-United won seven, NPP won five, Congress won four, Peoples Party of Arunachal Pradesh one and two seats were secured by Independents.
The seats where the BJP had won unopposed included Ziro-Hapoli, Taliha, Tali, Sagalee, Roing, Mukto, Itanagar, Hayuliang, Chowkham and Bomdila.
