The BJP has returned to power in Arunachal Pradesh for the third time in a row, as the party secured a majority by winning 46 seats in the 60-member Assembly, according to Election Commission data. Counting of votes concluded in the 50 seats for which elections were held in the northeastern State on April 19. The rest 10 seats were won by the saffron party uncontested. Of the 50 seats, the BJP won 36 Assembly seats.
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Chief Minister Pema Khandu is one of the 10 candidates who won unopposed. While no Opposition parties fielded candidates in five constituencies, rivals of the BJP withdrew their nominations in five more by the last day of withdrawal of candidature.
An estimated 65.79 per cent of 8.92 lakh electors exercised their franchise in Arunachal Pradesh where polling for 50 assembly seats was held on April 19, amid reports of sporadic violence and bids to snatch EVMs from a few districts, leaving 42 people injured, an official said.
Due to the reported EVM damage and violence, the Election Commission of India ordered repolling in eight polling stations in Arunachal Pradesh. An estimated 74% voter turnout was recorded in the repolling at these polling stations amid elaborate security arrangements, an election official said.
The BJP won 41 seats in the 2019 Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh. The Janata Dal (United) bagged seven, the NPP five, Congress four, and the PPA one, while two Independents also won. All except one Congress MLA – former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, who is the prime challenger of Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in the Arunachal West parliamentary seat – joined the BJP.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress recorded its most dismal performance yet, bagging only one seat out of the 19 it contested, a far cry from the time the party won 42 seats in 2014.
The BJP recorded its highest vote share of 54.4%, coming a long way from when it recorded its lowest of 5.21% in 2009 and a sign of its ever-continuing dominance of the north-eastern state. Congress recorded its lowest vote share of 5.56%, the NPP with 16.74%, and the PPA with 7.24%.
All four women candidates fielded by the BJP have registered victories. Only eight women filed nominations for 50 assembly seats this year. The ruling BJP has fielded four, the Opposition Congress nominated three, while there is one independent candidate. This is the highest in the State’s Assembly history and marking a positive increase in female participation in its politics.
