[ Prafulla Kaman ]
PASIGHAT, 17 Apr: An intriguing triangular contest is on the cards in Mebo assembly constituency in East Siang district.
The candidates in the fray are the BJP’s Lombo Tayeng, the People’s Party of Arunachal’s (PPA) Oken Tayeng, and independent candidate Shoney Pertin.
MLA Tayeng, who shifted allegiance from the Congress to the BJP, represented the constituency for several consecutive terms. He has a strong base in the rural areas.
It may be recalled that Tayeng had joined the BJP prior to the 2019 election and served as an adviser to the chief minister. But he was denied the party (BJP)ticket during the 2019 assembly election, following which he had contested on a Congress (INC) ticket.
On the other hand, Oken Tayeng is famous for working with the country’s tourism sector as a promoter. He is the founder of Abor Country Travels and Expeditions of Northeast India. He is a newcomer to state politics.
Oken Tayeng was among the six BJP ticket aspirants from the Mebo seat. He is reportedly backed by other aspirants, who are taking their position against the ruling party. The PPA candidate has made promises to take up the flood and erosion issue and development of road connectivity in lower Mebo area on priority, if elected.
Independent candidate Shoney Pertin organised a marathon election campaign, covering all rural areas of the constituency. He is sharply criticising the BJP and the PPA candidates, and opined that development of Mebo area cannot be expected from the BJP and the PPA candidates.
Pertin has released an 11-point development plan, including development of rural infrastructure, health and education sectors, and creation of self-employment avenues.
There are a total of 12,957 voters in the constituency,and the polling will be held at 19 polling stations.
