Arunachal Assembly polls 2024: Date, key issues, current status of House

Arunachal Pradesh will vote for 50 of its 60 Assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats simultaneously on April 19, the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha (and Assembly) polls.

While the votes of the Assembly polls will be counted on June 2, the Lok Sabha results will be declared on June 4.

Here is a brief account of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly polls, the major players, and the key election issues in India’s easternmost state.

Arunachal Pradesh Assembly election date: April 19 (along with Lok Sabha polls)

Current status of the Assembly

The BJP scored a landslide victory in the 2019 Arunachal Assembly polls, winning 41 seats, while Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), which is now an NDA constituent, surprisingly bagged seven seats in its maiden poll venture in the northeastern state.

Another newcomer, the NPP, won five seats while the Congress was relegated to a dismal fourth position. The People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) had bagged one seat while Independents secured two.

In terms of vote share, BJP had the lion’s share of 50.86 per cent votes, while Congress was a distant second with 16.85 per cent. NPP bagged 14.56 per cent while the JD(U) bagged 9.88 per cent votes. Three BJP candidates had been elected unopposed.

The 2019 elections marked a drastic reversal of fortunes for the Congress which had formed the government in 2014 with 42 seats and a 49.50 per cent vote share, though a downward trend had been apparent.

Arunachal polls 2024: No contest in 10 seats

Voting for the Arunachal Assembly elections 2024 will take place for 50 seats since 10 BJP candidates, including Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy, Chowna Mein, have been elected unopposed. Even two first-time BJP candidates — Ratu Techi from Sagalee and Hage Appa from the Ziro-Hapoli seat — will face no contest.

On March 30, Chief Electoral Officer Pawan Kumar Sain said 10 BJP candidates have been elected unopposed following the closure of the nomination withdrawal period. While some of them were the only candidates to file a nomination, in some cases, the rivals withdraw their nomination.

The only major opponent the ruling NDA faces in Arunachal is the Congress, which has fielded candidates for 19 seats.

However, it will be an uphill task for the Congress since another NDA constituent, Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP), will contest 20 seats. In all, 133 candidates are in the fray for the 50 seats.

Interestingly, the JD(U), which was the party with the second largest number of MLAs in 2019, has vanished from the Arunachal poll scene this time. Most of those MLAs have joined the BJP.

This Arunachal election will also be remembered for the whopping number of first-time candidates. While the BJP has fielded 14 new faces, the NPP has nominated 16 first-timers.

Some interesting contests

With 10 seats seeing no contest at all, the Arunachal Assembly battle has been largely diluted. However, there are some seats that will witness a tripartite battle among BJP, Congress, and NPP, even though the last one is BJP’s NDA partner. Also, defection among Arunachal politicians is quite mindboggling with the BJP gradually decimating all opposition from the state as their members join the saffron party.

1. Pakke-Kessang

In Pakke Kessang, the BJP district unit chief and sitting MLA Biyuram Wahge will face off against the Congress’s Gollo Yapang Tana and the NPP’s Techi Hemu. Hemu, a former BJP member, was the MLA from Pakke Kessang in 2004.

2. Daporijo

In Upper Subansiri’s Daporijo, BJP’s sitting MLA Taniya Soki will face Dikto Yekar again like 2019. However, Yekar will be fighting the polls on an NPP ticket this time instead of JD(U) which fielded him last time. Completing the triangle will be Reri Kirbe Dulom of the Congress.

3. Rumgong

In the Rumgong seat in Siang district, sitting MLA Talem Taboh will be challenged by the Congress’s Taling Yaying and the NPP’s Taja Bonung. Interestingly, Taboh fought on a JD(U) ticket last time and defeated the BJP candidate. This time, Taboh himself is the BJP candidate from Rumgong.

4. Tezu

In Lohit district’s Tezu seat, sitting MP Karikho Kri will take on BJP’s Mahesh Chai and the Congress’s Jermai Krong. Kri, who contested and won this seat in the 2019 polls as an Independent, will be fighting it this time on an NPP ticket.

Key election issues in Arunachal Pradesh

1. Infrastructure

The BJP has been repeatedly highlighting the government’s achievements in various sectors in the northeastern states, including infrastructure, power, tourism, internet connectivity, agriculture, and sports. The BJP manifesto for Arunachal pledges to boost infrastructure, women’s empowerment, and employment, and offer transparent governance. Only on March 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sela Tunnel at 13,000 feet, providing all-weather connectivity to Tawang.

2. Paper leak

The Opposition has been targeting the state BJP government over alleged corruption in several matters, including the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) paper leak and alleged recruitment irregularities in the state education department. The allegations stem from the question paper leak in the assistant engineer (civil) exam conducted by the APPSC in 2022.

3. Local identity

In January, as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra passed through Arunachal, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh drew people’s attention to unemployment among the youth and the China issue. The Congress has also been reminding people about Article 371(H) that allows special status to the people of Arunachal. After the abrogation of Article 370 that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, CM Khandu had in 2019 allayed fears of revocation of Article 371H, saying the rights are aimed at “protecting the economic and cultural interests” of some states, including Arunachal.