Arunachal Pradesh Assembly elections: Congress names 56 candidates; BJP to contest in 50 seats

The ruling Congress Party has announced the names of 56 candidates and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it would contest in about 50 seats in the elections to the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly to be held on October 13, 2009.

The Congress’ list of 56 candidates includes 2 women and 6 first-time contestants. The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly has a total of 60 seats.

The elections to the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly will take place along with elections in Haryana and Maharashtra.

The names of 9 sitting MLAs are out of the Congress list, ands the names of candidates for 4 constituencies – Palin, Pakke-Kessang, Namsai and Yachuli – are   yet to be finalisd owing to alleged internal squabbles in the state unit of the party.

The sitting Congress MLAs who have been denied ticket are: Tani Loffa (Seppa West), Kito Sora (Along East), Nyato Rigia (Taliha), Wangnia Pongte (Changlang North), Tadik Chije (Mechuka), Thajom Aboh (Khonsa West), Kamthok Lowang (Khonsa East), the monk-turned politician TG Rinpoche (Lumla), and Minister Atum Welly (Seppa East).

According to the list released by the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, former chief minister Gegong Apang, his son and former union minister Omak Apang, Finance Minister Kaliko Pul, Home Minister Jarbom Gamlin, and Public Works Minister Nabam Tuki have been re-nominated as candidates from their respective constituencies.
Pomaya Mithi, wife of former chief minister Mukut Mithi, has been chosen to contest from the Roing constituency, which had been represented by her husband.

Six out of the 9 BJP MLAs who joined the Congress recently have found a place in the Congress list this time. The 6 are: Tapang Taloh (Pangin), RT Khunjuju (Bomdila), Chow Tewa Mein (Chowkham), Bosiram Siram (Pasighat East), Kipa Babu (Itanagar), and Kameng Dolo (Chayangtajo).

The BJP is yet to announce a decision on sitting MLAs Techi Hemu (Pakke-Kessang) and Balo Raja (Palin).

While the BJP will contest in about 50 seats, it has decided to support non-Congress candidates in the rest of the seats, Tai Tagak, a spokesman of the BJP said.

Some of the sitting MLAs of the Congress and Independent MLAs who were not included in the list of 56 Congress candidates are in touch with the BJP for ticket, Tagak added.

He said the BJP had already released the first list of 17 candidates and would release the full list by September 17, 2009.

In the last Arunachal Pradesh Assembly elections held in 2004, the BJP had put up candidates in 39 out of the total 60 seats. The party had then won 9 seats and also won, for the first time, the post of the Leader of the Opposition.

In the forthcoming elections, many smaller political parties too have put up candidates. They include Trinamul Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), Lok Bharati, Naga People’s Front (NPF), and the Janata Dal (United).