AP Assembly Election: BJP drops 13 sitting MLAs including three ministers in candidate list
Guwahati, Mar 18 (IBNS): Aiming to tackle the present situation in Arunachal Pradesh triggered by the Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs) issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded few new faces as the party candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
The BJP on Sunday declared the names of the party candidate for 54 seats in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh assembly.
Among the candidates, few are new faces while 13 sitting MLAs including three cabinet ministers were dropped.
Arunachal Pradesh Home minister Kumar Waii, Health minister Jomde Kena, Tourism minister Jarkar Gamlin and 10 other sitting MLAs were denied party tickets this time.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu will contest from his home constituency Mukto in Tawang district, bordering with China.
Since 2004 Assembly elections, the Mukto assembly constituency has a history of the MLAs being elected without contest.
Khandu, heading the BJP-led state government since Dec 2016, was elected unopposed from the constituency in 2014 and in 2011 by-election also.
Pema Khandu’s father and former Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee Khandu died in a helicopter crash in Apr 2011.
Pema Khandu is facing this time Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Lama Lobsang Gyatso, an anti-dam activist and a Buddhist monk.
Pema Khandu’s brother Tsering Tashi and cousin Jambey Tashi (sitting MLAs) are the BJP candidates for the two other seats in Tawang district – Tawang and Lumla.
On the other hand, Deputy CM Chowna will contest from Chowkham seat instead of Lekang assembly constituency which he has been representing for five times since 1995.
Former Arunachal Pradesh CM Kalikho Pul’s wife Dasanglu Pul will contest from Hayuliang assembly seat and she had won the seat in 2016 by-election.
Recently Arunachal Pradesh turned turmoil over the PRCs issue as the state government want to grant the Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs) to six communities living in Namsai and Changlang districts since several decades.
The BJP came to power in the northeastern frontier state bordering with China after a majority Congress MLAs deserted the party and joined the saffron party.
(By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati)
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