Pema Khandu named as next Arunachal Pradesh CM
Pema Khandu-led BJP in Arunachal Pradesh won the assembly polls by securing a landslide victory by winning 46 seats in the 60-member assembly.
Pema Khandu is set for another term as chief minister of Arunchal Pradesh after he was re-elected as the BJP legislature party leader in the state. Khandu will meet Governor KT Parnaik to stake his claim to form the government. Khandu, along with his cabinet colleagues, will be sworn in on Thursday morning, marking the continuation of his leadership in the state.
Senior BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Tarun Chugh were sent as observers for the election of legislature party leader in Arunachal Pradesh.
Pema Khandu-led BJP in Arunachal Pradesh won the assembly polls by securing a landslide victory by winning 46 seats in the 60-member assembly. National People's Party won five seats, Nationalist Congress Party won three seats, two seats were won by the People's Party of Arunachal, one by Congress and three by the Independent in the recently concluded assembly polls in the state.
NPP has offered support to the BJP government but the party is unlikely to get representation in the new Cabinet.
Who is Pema Khandu?
Born into a prominent political family in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu completed his early education in Tawang and later pursued higher education in New Delhi, where he attended the prestigious Hindu College. Pema Khandu's political career began in earnest after the death of his father, Dorjee Khandu, in a helicopter crash in 2011. He was elected unopposed to the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 2011 from the Mukto constituency, a seat previously held by his father.
In 2016, Pema Khandu was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, succeeding Nabam Tuki. In September, he led a group of Congress legislators to defect to the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA), a regional party, thereby becoming the Chief Minister under the PPA banner. By December, Pema Khandu and his group rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), solidifying his position as the Chief Minister under the BJP leadership.
After the BJP retained power in Arunachal Pradesh registering a huge victory in the 2024 assembly elections, Khandu termed it a "historic day" and said the results showed "pro-incumbency" for the state government.
"This is a historic day for Arunachal Pradesh, especially for the BJP. The party set a new record in these Assembly elections...There is pro-incumbency in BJP. In 2019, we won 41 seats and in 2024 we won 46 seats," he said.
"After the formalities of the party, we will stake our claim to form the new government. We are certain that we will win both the Lok Sabha seats of the state," he added.
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