ITANAGAR, 30 Mar: Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein are among 10 BJP candidates who were elected unopposed in the state legislative assembly polls, an official said on Saturday.
Khandu and nine others were elected unopposed following the closure of the nomination withdrawal period, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain told reporters here.
Khandu was the only person to file a nomination for the Mukto assembly constituency in Tawang district, while Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein won the Chowkham seat uncontested after his lone rival Bayamso Kri of the Congress withdrew his nomination on Saturday, he said.
“Single nomination paper has been filed in six assembly constituencies, while in four others, opposition candidates withdrew their papers,” he said.
Other than Khandu and Mein, those elected unopposed were Ratu Techi (Sagalee), Jikke Tako (Tali), Nyato Dukam (Taliha), Mutchu Mithi (Roing), Hage Appa (Ziro-Hapoli), Techi Kaso (Itanagar), Dongru Siongju (Bomdila), and Dasanglu Pul (Hayuliang).
The state BJP celebrated the election of the party candidates at its headquarters here on Saturday.
Attending the celebration, Khandu asserted that the BJP would win the upcoming assembly elections in the state with a thumping majority. He said also that the party will aim to make a clean sweep of all the 60 assembly seats.
Khandu said that the two contesting BJP candidates – Kiren Rijiju from the western parliamentary constituency and Tapir Gao from the eastern parliamentary constituency – would also record thumping wins.
He said that the BJP’s candidates were selected “based on their performance and credibility.”
Arunachal’s election in-charge Ashok Singhal also attended the celebration and congratulated Khandu and all other elected party candidates.
“Winning of 10 MLAs unopposed is a testament to unwavering dedication and trust of the public,” he said.
Dukam, Kaso, state BJP president Biyuram Wahge, its vice president Tarh Tarak, general secretaries Tadar Niglar and Nalong Mize, and a host of party workers and leaders attended the celebration.
