How these trends capture BJP's Arunachal Pradesh victory

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu

The outcome of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly polls has thrown up an interesting trend. For the first time in the history of the hill state, the incumbent dispensation has been re-elected after completing a full-five year term.  This tend is significant because electorate were evaluating the saffron party  not only for its ideas but also for its developmental work and decisive leadership.

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. 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.

Another important trend is worth equal consideration. Congress' inability to find candidates to field in 41 out of 60 assembly constituencies, mirrors the political fall of party that dominated the politics of the hill state for a considerable period.

The BJP has improved its seat tally and vote share as it stormed back to office, inflicting heavy losses on Congress, which managed to win a lone seat in Arunachal Pradesh. Congress won in only one of the 19 constituencies it contested, while National People’s Party (NPP) got five seats. NPP is an ally of BJP but fought the polls on its own.

In 2019, the BJP had won 41 seats. He said the BJP would stake claim to form the government after the results of the Lok Sabha elections. BJP formed its government in Arunachal Pradesh in 2016 after Khandu, along with several MLAs, joined the party. They had left Congress and joined the People’s Party of Arunachal before shifting to BJP.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who bagged the Mukto seat, was among the 10 BJP candidates who won without opposition. The other uncontested seats were Itanagar, Bomdila, Chowkham, Hayuliang, Roing, Sagalee, Tali, Taliha, and Ziro Hapoli. The remaining 50 seats, along with Arunachal’s two Lok Sabha seats, went to polls on April 19.

This victory marks the BJP’s third consecutive term in the northeastern state. The party first came to power in the state in December 2016 when 33 legislators from the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), led by Khandu, joined the BJP. The 43 PPA legislators had earlier broken away from then ruling Congress.