The first phase of voting in the country ended on April 19. In this, the fate of Union Minister Kiren Rijiju contesting from Arunachal West was also at stake. Arunachal West Lok Sabha seat of Arunachal Pradesh holds an important place in the electoral politics of India. Arunachal West has a diverse demographics and is interesting and important from the electoral point of view among the Lok Sabha constituencies of Arunachal Pradesh. Congress’s Arunachal Pradesh unit chief Nabam Tuki is challenging Kiren Rijiju on this seat.
Former Chief Minister of the state Nabam Tuki, who faced defeat from Rijiju in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is confident of his victory. He said that people want change and public attitude towards Rijiju is changing. He is facing anti-incumbency wave.
What were the results of the elections of 2014 and 2019?
In the 2014 general elections, BJP had made Kiren Rijiju its candidate. He defeated Takam Sanjay of Congress by a margin of 41,738 votes. Kiren Rijiju got 169,367 votes while Takam Sanjay got 127,629 votes.
After this, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rijiju, one of the prominent leaders of BJP in the North-East region, won this seat by a margin of 174,843 votes. He received 225,796 votes with 62.00% vote share. Rijiju defeated former chief minister and state Congress president Nabam Tuki, who received 50,953 votes (14.00 %).
Know about Kiren Rijiju
Kiren Rijiju was born on 19 November 1971 in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh to Rinchin Kharu and Chirai Rijiju. His father was the first pro-term speaker to administer the oath to the members of the first assembly of Arunachal Pradesh. Kiren Rijiju showed keen interest in public affairs right from his student days. In 2002, when he was 31 years old, he was appointed as a member of the Khadi and Agro Industries Commission.
He was first elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Arunachal West parliamentary constituency in 2004, but lost the election battle to Congress candidate Takam Sanjay in 2009. The 53-year-old leader was re-elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted him into the Council of Ministers as Minister of State in the Home Ministry. Rijiju, who belongs to the Nyishi tribe, was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from the same Arunachal West constituency in 2019 and was appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports and Minister of State for Minority Affairs. He became the Minister of Law and Justice after the cabinet reshuffle in July 2021. There was a major change in the Modi cabinet on May 18, 2023. Kiren Rijiju was removed from the post of Law Minister and Arjun Ram Meghwal was made the Law Minister in his place.
Tuki confident of victory
Former Chief Minister Tuki is currently the MLA from Sagli constituency in Papumpare district and has been elected for six consecutive terms. Tuki, who lost the Arunachal West seat to Rijiju in 2019, has expressed confidence of victory this time citing the growing desire for change among the voters. Tuki also said, “People want change and the public’s attitude towards Rijiju is changing.” He is facing anti-incumbency wave. My focus will be on employment generation.
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