The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears set to reclaim power in Arunachal Pradesh with a remarkable surge in electoral fortunes, securing wins in 42 seats and leading in another four out of the 60-member Assembly. The party’s dominance was underscored by its triumph in 10 uncontested seats, including those held by Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, signaling a clear path to surpass its previous tally of 41 seats in 2019.
The electoral landscape witnessed a stark contrast with the near decimation of the Congress party, which held sway in the state until Chief Minister Pema Khandu’s defection in 2016. With only one seat in its favor and a meager vote share of 5.12%, the Congress grapples with the challenge of survival, having fielded just 19 candidates in the electoral fray.
In contrast, the BJP not only consolidates its electoral gains but also demonstrates a significant increase in vote share, currently standing at 54.64%. This electoral prowess can be attributed to the party’s robust organizational machinery and substantial investments by the Central government in key sectors such as infrastructure and aviation, according to BJP’s Roing winner Mutchu Mithi.
Mithi emphasized, “In the last 10 years of the BJP’s tenure, the Prime Minister has come to Arunachal four to five times in the past five years. Whereas since our state-hood, hardly three PMs had come. There has been a lot of emphasis, even though we don’t have Lok Sabha numbers, but the BJP has recognised the strategic position of the state. The BJP’s organisation is also powerful and the Central government has made huge investments in Arunachal, especially in the roads-highways and aviation sectors.”
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The BJP’s ascendancy in the state gained momentum with a series of defections from other parties, bolstering its ranks with 55 outgoing MLAs aligning with the ruling party. The Congress, in particular, suffered a severe setback with key leaders defecting to the BJP fold, culminating in the loss of its Legislature Party leader Lombo Tayeng in March.
However, voices from the opposition lamented what they termed as electoral malpractices and coercion by the ruling party to weaken the opposition. Arunachal Congress General Secretary Kon Jirjo Jotham expressed disillusionment with the electoral process, alleging, ““We had wanted to contest in over 50 seats but then at a crucial time, the BJP pulled out our CLP and our MLA who was former Union Minister of State, Ninong Ering. Everyone was disappointed and demoralised because of this. Then we went ahead and fielded 35 candidates but the BJP did deals with 10 of them and they withdrew from the contest. Then 25 candidates filed nominations, and six of them withdrew at the last minute. This outcome is not a people’s mandate. This is an election fought by terrorising and weakening the Opposition in underhanded ways.”
Political analysts view the election results as emblematic of Arunachal Pradesh’s political landscape, where power dynamics are intrinsically linked to the ruling dispensation at the Centre. Professor Nani Bath from Rajiv Gandhi University noted, “The BJP is so strong now in the state because the party is in power in Delhi. The things will reverse if the Congress were to come to power at the Centre.”
