ITANAGAR, 1 Dec: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday hailed the winning of BJP candidates unopposed ahead of the 15 December panchayat and municipal elections in the state, claiming that it shows the “people’s trust in the party’s model of development and good governance.”
He said 58 zilla parishad members (ZPMs), four corporators of the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) and 5,037 gram panchayat members (GPMs) have already been declared elected without contest.
He described the development as a reflection of the people’s “unshakable trust in the BJP’s model of development and good governance.”
“My heartfelt gratitude to the people of Arunachal. Your overwhelming support strengthens our resolve to serve with even greater dedication and commitment,” the chief minister said in a post on X.
The winning of the candidates without contest also signifies the “deep faith the people have in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda and state president Kaling Moyong,” he said.
The State Election Commission (SEC) in a statement on Sunday said 63 candidates – 58 from the BJP and one from the National People’s Party (NPP) for zilla parishad seats, four BJP nominees for the IMC wards – were elected uncontested following the withdrawal of nominations on Saturday.
According to the poll body, 440 candidates remain in the fray for 186 zilla parishad seats, 39 for 16 IMC wards and 21 for eight Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC) wards.
The commission received 600 nominations for 245 zilla parishad constituencies, 10,550 for 8,182 gram panchayat seats, 101 for 20 IMC wards and 28 for eight PMC wards by the 24 November deadline.
Scrutiny was completed on 26 November.
The SEC also said that 13 gram panchayat constituencies received no nominations, while all such documents were rejected in 14 others during scrutiny.
Polling in the Dumba Singpho gram panchayat constituency has been countermanded due to the death of a candidate whose nomination was found valid.
These seats, along with other vacant ones, will be filled later through bye-elections, the commission said.
Arunachal will hold the 12th elections to panchayati raj institutions and the third municipal polls for Itanagar and Pasighat simultaneously on 15 December.
Altogether 8,31,648 voters, including 7,59,210 for panchayat seats and 72,438 for municipal elections, are eligible to cast their ballots across 2,171 polling stations for rural polls, 67 for IMC, and 12 for PMC.
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used for municipal polls, while ballot boxes will be deployed for panchayat elections.
Counting of votes will be held on 20 December.(PTI)
