44 Cong MLAs in Arunachal join BJP-backed party

Bijay Sankar Bora/Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
Guwahati/New Delhi, September 16

The Congress is set to lose Arunachal Pradesh again as 44 of its MLAs, including Chief Minister Pema Khandu, have quit the party and joined the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA), backed by the BJP.                         

The only Congress MLA who has remained with the Congress is former chief minister Nabam Tuki. Tuki did not attend Friday morning’s Congress Legislature Party meeting that discussed the merger with the PPA.

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Khandu informed the media in Itanagar that the Speaker had been informed about “the Congress Legislature Party’s decision to merge with the PPA, which doesn’t have a single MLA in the 60-member House”. Two Independent MLAs have also decided to join the PPA.

Meanwhile, the BJP, which has 11 MLAs in the Assembly, has announced that it will support the PPA in government formation from outside. This was announced by state BJP president Tapir Gao.

(Read: Rijiju blames Cong internal dissent for Arunachal development)

The Congress, for its part, was caught unawares with the sudden political development where the Supreme Court had restored its government in July.

Khandu was then elected the Congress Legislature Party chief after Nabam Tuki stepped down.

The move, however, could not keep the Congress flock together, with Khandu on Friday leading two-thirds party MLAs to join the new outfit, engineering a mass exodus, which practically eliminated the entire Congress leadership in the state.

Former Assam Congress strongman Himanta Biswa Sarma is the chairman of the NE alliance of the BJP, and is said to be behind the development.

With the entire Congress defecting to the PPA, stage is now set for the end of the Congress rule in Arunachal with Khandu likely to become the BJP-backed CM of the PPA government.

This by far is the biggest setback for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi who is busy with his kisan yatra in UP.

Congress general secretary incharge of Northeast CP Joshi, when contacted, said he was still in the process of seeking details from Arunachal Congress chief and would comment later.

In an Assembly of 60, the Congress had 47 MLAs, the BJP 11 and there were two Independents.

The Supreme Court had on July 13 reinstalled the ousted Congress government, then headed by Nabam Tuki,  throwing out the BJP-supported rebel government led by Kaliko Pul.

It was for the first time that the apex court had restored a state government dismissed by the Centre by imposing President’s rule.