Pema Khandu and Prime Minister Modi
Itanagar: Pema Khandu will become the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the third consecutive term. He will take oath as CM at Raj Bhavan at 11 am today. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and JP Nadda have reached Itanagar to attend his swearing-in ceremony. Khandu was elected the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in a meeting here on Wednesday. BJP’s central observers – Ravi Shankar Prasad and Tarun Chugh attended the meeting. According to sources, Khandu will later stake claim to form the government.
How many seats did BJP win?
The ruling BJP had won 46 seats in the 60-member assembly, while NPP had won 5, NCP three, People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) two seats. Congress had won one seat and independent candidates had won three seats. BJP has won both the Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh. Let us tell you that the Lok Sabha elections were held here on April 19 along with the assembly elections in the state.
Know about Pema Khandu
Sports and music enthusiast Pema Khandu has emerged as a major leader in Arunachal Pradesh in the last few years, especially after the constitutional crisis that arose in 2016 which led to the imposition of President’s rule in the state. Khandu has also been successful in building his image as a skilled election strategist. It is because of his strategy that he has made the lotus (BJP’s election symbol) bloom again in this northeastern state. The BJP returned to power for the third consecutive time in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday by winning 46 seats in the 60-member assembly and securing a majority.
His father died in a helicopter crash
Khandu’s political journey began amid a personal tragedy. His father and former chief minister Dorjee Khandu died in a helicopter crash in 2011. Pema Khandu joined the Congress in 2000 and held various positions. He was elected unopposed in the assembly by-election as a Congress candidate from his father’s constituency Mukto in June 2011. Pema Khandu became the minister of water resources development and tourism in the government of Chief Minister Nabam Tuki. His leadership scope grew rapidly after the constitutional crisis in January 2016, when President’s rule was imposed in the state. When the central rule was lifted, he became a minister in the BJP-backed Kalikho Pul-led government. This government, however, lasted only for a short time.
Khandu is the Chief Minister of Arunachal since 2016
The Tuki government was reinstated following the intervention of the Supreme Court but he resigned soon after. Khandu then became the chief minister in July 2016 at the age of just 37. Since taking over as the chief minister of this crucial state bordering China, Khandu and his cabinet have switched parties twice – from the Congress to the People’s Party of Arunachal Pradesh (PPA) and then to the BJP, that too in a span of just five months. Just three months into his tenure, 43 MLAs of the ruling Congress joined the BJP’s ally PPA. In 2019, Khandu won the Mukto assembly seat for the second time and became the chief minister without any political hitch.
Fond of music and sports
Beyond politics, Khandu is known for his cultural contributions. He is a music lover and has wooed audiences by singing songs of Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi at official functions. Sports is another of Khandu’s passions, wherein he actively organises cricket tournaments and supports local athletes and promotes talent in various sports including football, cricket, badminton and volleyball. A history graduate from Delhi’s Hindu College, Khandu hails from the Monpa tribe, which mainly resides in Tawang and parts of West Kameng. Khandu, 45, a Buddhist, has been elected unopposed from the Mukto seat in the border district of Tawang this time too.
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