BJP forms govt in Arunachal as 33 MLAs led by CM Khandu pledge their allegiance after quitting PPA

Itanagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday took over the mantle of the Arunachal Pradesh government after 33 PPA legislators led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu quit their party and pledged allegiance to BJP.

The People's Party of Arunachal Pradesh (PPA) is now reduced to just 10 MLAs in the 60-member House.

Khandu paraded the MLAs before Assembly Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok who accepted their joining, PTI reported.

The high-voltage political drama began late Thursday after PPA President Kahfa Bengia suspended Khandu, his deputy Chowna Mein and five legislators from the primary membership of the party for alleged anti-party activities.

The PPA, an alliance partner of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) government in the state, yesterday selected Takam Pario as the new chief minister of the state.

However, the political equation changed when majority of the PPA MLAs who initially extended support to Pario, later shifted their allegiance to Khandu.

The PPA today 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 the 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 condition where the party president treated the MLAs undemocratically.

"So with focus on development, our MLAs decided to join the BJP for overall progress of the state," the chief minister said.

Terming the decision of the PPA president to suspend the MLAs as "undemocratic," Khandu said that before such a move the party leadership should have issued show cause notice to the MLAs.

"There was no significant development in the state since last year due to political turmoil, but now with 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," Khandu asserted.

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 January 7 next, Khandu said that the joining was done in accordance to the Constitution. 

(With agency inputs)