[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 10 Apr: Kra Daadi district has two assembly constituencies: Palin and Tali.
While sitting MLA Jikke Tako of the BJP has won the Tali seat uncontested, Palin assembly constituency is witnessing a straight fight between veteran leader and sitting BJP MLA Balo Raja and Mayu Taring of the NPP.
Raja is a two-time MLA, while his opponent Mayu is contesting for the first time.
Raja had won the election for the first time in 2004 on a BJP ticket, defeating Takam Sanjoy, who was a minister then. However, he lost the election in 2009 to Takam Pario, and did not fight the election in 2014.
He made a comeback in 2019, defeating Pario in a high-voltage election battle between two powerful leaders.
Interestingly, his long-time political rival Takam Pario, who was announced as the Congress party’s candidate from Palin constituency, shocked everyone by recently joining the BJP and extending his support to Raja.
Born in 1970, Raja hails from Rai Balo village in Chambang circle of Kra Daadi. After completing his school education from the government higher secondary school in Ziro, he went on to graduate from Jawaharlal Nehru College, Pasighat. Raja was an adviser to the power & hydropower development minister from 2019 to 2024.
On the other hand, Taring, who is a lawyer by profession, is making his entry into electoral politics for the first time. While Raja is banking on his experience, the 39-year-old Mayu believes that he represents the young voters and considers himself an agent of change in Palin assembly constituency.
After completing his MBA and LLB, he started practicing as a lawyer. He was a government advocate in the Itanagar permanent bench of the Gauhati High Court from 2016 to 2022.
Further, he was a successful business entrepreneur before taking the plunge into electoral politics.
Taring has also been associated with student unions in the past, having held positions in the All Kurung Kumey District Students’ Union in 2004 and the All Nyishi Students’ Union in 2017, and has widely travelled the world.
The battle between an experienced leader and a young candidate in Palin assembly constituency is one to watch out for.
