Pema Khandu takes oath as Arunachal CM for 3rd straight term

Itanagar, June 13 (IANS) Pema Khandu, who was re-elected as the BJP Legislature Party leader on Wednesday, took oath as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister for the third straight term on Thursday.

Governor Lt-Gen (Retd), KT Parnaik administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and 10 other Cabinet Ministers at the Dorjee Khandu Convention Centre in Itanagar.

The other ministers who took oath on Thursday include Biyuram Wahge, Nyato Dukam, Gabriel Denwang Wangsu, Wangki Lowang, Pasang Dorjee Sona, Mama Natung, Dasanglu Pul, Balo Raja, Kento Jini and Ojing Tasing.

Biyuram Wahge is the state BJP President while Dasanglu Pul is the lone woman minister in the 12-member Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister Khandu.

BJP President and Union Health Minister, JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santosh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his Sikkim counterpart Prem Singh Tamang and several other dignitaries attended the oath-taking ceremony.

Former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh, and the party’s Arunachal incharge Ashok Singhal were present at Wednesday’s meeting which re-elected Khandu as the Legislature Party leader.

The results of the Assembly polls, which were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, were announced on June 2, two days before the declaration of results for the General Elections.

The BJP secured 46 seats -- five more than its 2019 tally -- in the 60-member Arunachal Assembly.

Of these, 10 seats, including that of CM Khandu, were won uncontested before the polls.

The National People’s Party (NPP) headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma won 5 seats, followed by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP (3), the People’s Party of Arunachal (2), the Congress (1), while 3 seats were won by Independent nominees.

The NPP, the NCP, and the PPA have already announced their support to the BJP government.

Son of former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, Monpa community leader Khandu (45) first became the Chief Minister in 2016 after he, along with several MLAs, left the Congress for the PPA before joining the BJP.

The BJP registered its first electoral victory in Arunachal Pradesh in the 2019 Assembly elections.