ITANAGAR: In a significant electoral shake-up, Arunachal Pradesh witnessed the rise of 20 first-time winners in the Assembly elections.
Among them, eleven belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), four hail from the National People’s Party (NPP), two each represent the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), while one emerged victorious as an independent candidate.
Despite fielding 19 candidates, the opposition Congress managed to secure only one seat, with former state home minister Kumar Waii clinching victory in the Bameng constituency by a slender margin of 635 votes, defeating BJP’s Doba Lamnio.
Reacting to the election outcome, State Congress president Nabam Tuki expressed disappointment but stressed that the party remains undeterred.
The NPP secured five seats, garnering 16.11% of the vote share, while the NCP captured three seats with a vote share of 10.43%.
The regional PPA won two seats, boasting a vote share of 7.24%.
Despite BJP’s overwhelming victory, with a vote share of 54.57%, notable party members, including Education Minister Taba Tedir, faced defeat.
Tedir lost to NCP nominee Toko Tatung in the Yachuli constituency.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu hailed the electoral outcome as historic, asserting that the momentum of Arunachal Pradesh’s verdict will reverberate nationwide on June 4 during the Lok Sabha election vote count.
“This time, the mandate is more than what we got in 2019,” Khandu remarked, noting the BJP’s increased seat tally from 41 to 46.
Attributing the BJP’s success to the developmental strides witnessed under the BJP-led central government, Khandu highlighted the people’s endorsement of the party’s governance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined in congratulating the people of Arunachal Pradesh for the BJP’s landslide victory, underscoring the significance of the state’s electoral verdict.
