On Thursday, Pema Khandu took the oath as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the third consecutive term. This followed his re-election as the BJP Legislature Party leader on Wednesday.
Governor Lt-Gen (Retd) KT Parnaik administered the oath-taking ceremony at the Dorjee Khandu Convention Centre in Itanagar.
Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and ten other Cabinet Ministers also took the oath of office and secrecy.
The ministers 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 serves as the state BJP President, and Dasanglu Pul is the sole woman minister in the 12-member Council of Ministers led by Chief Minister Khandu.
High-Profile Dignitaries At Ceremony
Several high-profile dignitaries attended the ceremony, including 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, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, and other prominent leaders.
Former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh, and the party’s Arunachal Pradesh in-charge Ashok Singhal attended the meeting on Wednesday, where they decided the re-election of Khandu as the Legislature Party leader.
The Assembly polls, held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections on 19 April, saw results announced on 2 June, two days before the General Election results.
The BJP won 46 out of the 60 seats in the Arunachal Assembly, an increase of five seats from its 2019 tally.
Notably, 10 of these seats, including that of CM Khandu, were won uncontested before the polls.
The National People’s Party (NPP), led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, secured 5 seats, followed by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP with 3 seats, the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) with 2 seats, the Congress with 1 seat, and 3 seats won by Independent candidates.
Meanwhile, the NPP, NCP, and PPA have all pledged their support to the BJP government.
Pema Khandu, 45, a Monpa community leader and son of former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, first assumed office in 2016 after defecting from the Congress to the PPA and subsequently joining the BJP.
The BJP marked its first electoral victory in Arunachal Pradesh in the 2019 Assembly elections.
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