With the release of names of candidates for the ensuing assembly and Lokh Sabha election by several parties the political atmosphere is heating up in the state. BJP has so far released the names of 54 candidates but are yet to announce the names for the remaining six constituencies. Party has dropped several sitting MLAs including two ministers. Heavyweights like Home Minister Kumar Waii, Tourism Minister Jarkar Gamlin and veteran leaders like Wanglin Lowandong, Lombo Tayeng have failed to make it to the BJP list.
The battle for supremacy within party is believed to be the main reason for these leaders missing out the BJP ticket. There was believed to be camps within BJP with Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein on one side and other senior leaders on another side. For now CM and deputy CM has managed to win the first round of battle by denying tickets to those whom they saw as threat to their leadership. However all the leaders who were denied BJP ticket is expected to still fight the election. Parties like Congress, NPP, JD (S) are ready to offer tickets to them. BJP has taken huge gamble by giving party tickets to several new faces and ignoring the old guards. But there is no denying that battle for 2019 which looked like one sided victory for BJP few days ago has now turned into an interesting battle. The ticket distribution of BJP has made the battle more interesting.