Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 24 Dec: One MLA from the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) and six from the Janata Dal (United) have officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to a bulletin issued by the state legislative assembly on 23 December, the MLAs who have shifted from the JD (U) are Talem Taboh (Rumgong), Hayeng Mangfi (Chayang Tajo), Jikke Tako (Tali), DW Kharma (Kalaktang), Dongru Siongju (Bomdila) and Kanggong Taku (Mariyang Geku).
Earlier, on 26 November, the JD (U) had issued show cause notices to Siongju, Kharma and Taku for anti-party activities. They had been served 14-day show cause notices and put under suspension by party president Ruhi Tagung.
The six MLAs had gone to the legislative assembly speaker, seeking a change in the leadership of the JD (U) in the assembly.
The JD (U) had secured seven seats in the 2019 state assembly elections and selected Itanagar MLA Techi Kaso as the party leader. The other MLAs had reportedly elected Taboh as the new party leader without the knowledge or consent of the state president and the present legislature leader.
There were talks of the six MLAs’ plan to merge with the BJP then, as well, but none of the party members attested to the claims at the time.
The JDU (U) is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre.
In the meantime, Likabali MLA Kardo Nyigyor officially joined the BJP on 21 December.
Nyigyor, who was the lone legislator of the PPA in the 60-member state assembly, was also suspended by the PPA for anti-party activities in early December.
PPA president Kahfa Bengia had then said that the party had been a victim of political defection for years, and that Nyigyor had to be suspended to curtail such defections.
