Third BJP govt in Arunachal led by Pema Khandu to be sworn in on Thursday

Itanagar: Pema Khandu, who was re-elected as the BJP legislative party leader on Wednesday, will take charge as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Ministerial for the third straight term on Thursday.

The Governor would administer the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers at the Raj Bhavan On Thursday.

Soon After his re-election as the BJP legislative party leader on Wednesday, Khandu accompanied by other leaders met Governor Lt Gen (Retd) K.T. Parnaik at the Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form the government.

Sources said that along with Khandu, several ministers, including outgoing Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, will also take the oath.

BJP President and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national General Secretary B.L. Santosh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and several other Chief Ministers from the northeastern states will attend the oath ceremony.

Former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP national General Secretary Tarun Chugh, and the party's Arunachal in-charge Ashok Singhal were present at the meeting which re-elected Khandu as the legislative party leader.

On Tuesday, the Parliamentary Board of the BJP appointed Prasad and Chugh as the party’s central observers to elect the legislative party leader in Arunachal Pradesh.

The results of the Assembly polls, which were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, were announced on June 2, two days before the declaration of results for the general elections.

The BJP secured 46 seats -- five more than its 2019 tally -- in the 60-member Arunachal Assembly. Of these, 10 seats, including that of CM Khandu, were won uncontested before the polls.

The National People’s Party (NPP) headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma won 5 seats, followed by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP (3), the People’s Party of Arunachal (2), the Congress (1), while 3 seats were won by Independent nominees.

The NPP, the NCP, and the PPA have already announced their support to the BJP government.

Monpa community leader Khandu (45) first became the Chief Minister in 2016 after he, along with several MLAs, left the Congress for the PPA before joining the BJP.

The BJP registered its first electoral victory in Arunachal in the 2019 Assembly elections.