This will be Mr Khandu’s fourth term as MLA, during which he won uncontested three times. (File)
Itanagar:
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and four other BJP candidates will be elected as MLAs unopposed as no other candidate filed nomination from their seats in the assembly on Wednesday.
Assembly elections will be held in Arunachal Pradesh along with the Lok Sabha polls. Voting for the 60-member assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies – Arunachal West and Arunachal East – will take place on April 19.
Fifteen candidates will also try their luck for the two Lok Sabha seats in the northeastern state. The examination of nomination papers will take place on Thursday and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 30.
The counting of votes for the Assembly elections will take place on June 2, while the Lok Sabha election results will be declared on June 4.
“A single nomination paper has been filed in five constituencies. We hope that a few more seats will be added on the last day of withdrawal,” Mr Khandu told PTI over phone.
This will be Mr Khandu’s fourth term as MLA, during which he won uncontested three times. He hails from Mukto constituency in Tawang district.
Four other candidates set to win uncontested include Jikke Tako of Tali, Nyato Dukom of Taliha, Ratu Techi of Sagalee and Mutchu Mithi of Roing, as Congress nominees and other candidates withdrew their candidature on Wednesday.
The BJP has fielded candidates for all 60 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh, while the opposition Congress nominated 34 and the National People’s Party has 29 candidates. The NCP and Arunachal People’s Party (PPA) have nominated seventeen and two candidates respectively for the assembly elections.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 41 seats. Later, seven MLAs from other parties joined the BJP. The BJP had also won both the Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections.
The BJP formed its first elected government in Arunachal Pradesh in 2019, even though Chief Minister Khandu had formed a BJP government in 2016 after he, along with several MLAs, quit the Congress and formed the Arunachal People’s Party, which joined hands with the BJP.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said Arunachal Pradesh is leading the way in reflecting the mood of the country.
“On the last day of nomination filing for the Assembly election, BJP has secured five candidates who were elected unopposed under the leadership of CM @PemaKhanduBJP ji from 3-Mukto Assembly constituency. 15. Sagalee Assembly constituency: Shri Ratu Techi 20. Tali Assembly Constituency: Shri Jikke Tako 23. Taliha Assembly Constituency: Shri Nyato Dukom 43. Roing Assembly Constituency: Shri Mutchu Mithi,” he wrote on “X”.
Mr. Rijiju said that the tremendous development in the State due to the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attracted so much support and blessings from the people.
An official said, “A total of 197 candidates have filed papers for the 60 Assembly constituencies. Five BJP nominees, including Chief Minister Pema Khandu, may be elected unopposed as no other candidate has filed nominations from their seats.”
After examining the nomination papers on Thursday, the fate of the five BJP candidates would be clear, Joint Chief Electoral Officer Liken Koyu said.
Speaking about the Assembly elections, he said eight candidates had filed nominations for the Arunachal West Lok Sabha constituency. Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Nabam Tuki are among those who filed papers from the seat.
The Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency has seven nominations. The BJP has fielded sitting MP Tapir Gao, while the Congress has nominated Bosiram Siram from the eastern parliamentary seat.
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