NEW DELHI, 11 October 2004 — Even though the Congress party is set to retain power in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh assembly, seats won by BJP and independent candidates, mainly Congress rebels, spell some alarm for the party.
During the last assembly poll, BJP failed to win a single seat. Till yesterday evening Congress won 24 of the 45 seats declared, with BJP securing six and others winning 15 seats. The Congress won the three seats of Dirang, Mukto and Sagalee unopposed.
Political tables turned in favor of Congress, when in August former Chief Minister Gegong Apang along with several former MLAs joined the party deserting BJP.
Apang’s political fortunes will be revealed today as counting in his and 11 other constituencies will be taken up. In 1999, Apang won from his home constituency — Yingkoing — as a candidate of Arunachal Congress.
With Congress surging ahead as the leading party in Arunachal Pradesh, speculations are are rife as to who would be the party’s candidate for the post of chief minister. The two main contenders are Apang and Mukut Mithi.
Even though Apang has remained with the Congress for the greater part of his political life, over the past two decades he has switched sides many a time. Changing political sides has helped him serve as the state’s chief minister for 19 years, the second longest term by any chief minister after Jyoti Basu.
