Arunachal Pradesh: Pema Khandu-led 33 rebel MLAs join BJP, to form government

Itanagar: In a fast paced development, a BJP government was installed in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday after 33 Peoples’ Party of Arunachal (PPA) MLAs, led by chief minister Pema Khandu, joined the saffron brigade in this politically fragile state. Khandu paraded the MLAs before Assembly Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok, who accepted their joining. The high-voltage political drama began since late Thursday night after PPA president Kahfa Bengia temporarily suspended Khandu, his deputy Chowna Mein, and five legislators from the primary membership of the party for alleged anti-party activities. [caption id=“attachment_3182578” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pema Khandu will become chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh once again. AFP[/caption] The PPA, an alliance partner of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) government in the state, had selected Takam Pario as new chief minister on Friday. However, the political equation changed when a majority of the PPA MLAs who initially extended support to Pario, later shifted their allegiance to Khandu. The PPA also suspended four other party MLAs, including Honchun Ngandam, Bamang Felix, Punji Mara and Pani Taram. “Lotus has finally bloomed in Arunachal. The people of the state will see a new dawn of development in the new year under the new government,” Khandu told reporters in the Assembly premises. Elaborating on the decision to merge with BJP, the chief minister said that circumstances compelled the MLAs to take the decision in the interest of the people and the state. “After several years of Congress misrule, we observed that there was no visible development in the state. We joined the PPA with the intention to take the state to progress and prosperity, but there too, we find similar conditions, where the party president treated the MLAs undemocratically. So, with a focus on development, our MLAs decided to join BJP for the overall progress of the state,” he said. Terming the decision to suspend the MLAs as “undemocratic,” Khandu said that before such a move, the party leadership should have issued showcause notices to the MLAs. “There was no significant development in the state since last year due to political turmoil, but with the NDA government at the Centre, the state will witness a sea change in the coming years,” Khandu said, adding, “The decision to join the BJP is a blessing in disguise for the people and the state. Until and unless there is stability in the government, no development could take place. There will be no more dissident politics and we shall now only focus on development.” When asked about the court case filed by Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Padi Richo against the joining of Congress MLAs with PPA which is pending with the Gauhati high court and which would be taken up on 7 January, Khandu said that the joining was done in accordance to the Constitution.