Rijiju may replace Khandu as Arunachal CM

Guwahati, January 6 (HT): Political changes in Arunachal Pradesh are as unpredictable as the earthquakes that frequently strike India’s northeast region.   Days after chief minister Pema Khandu joined the BJP with 32 MLAs to present the saffron party with its first full-fledged government in the region, speculations are rife that he may be replaced soon. According to rumours that surfaced in the corridors of power of Itanagar, Khandu – who joined the BJP on December 31 by deserting the Peoples’ Party of Arunachal (PPA) – may have to make way for an old saffron face.   Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju’s name is doing the rounds as the next likely chief minister of the state. State BJP chief Tapir Gao is also said to be in the race.   Though BJP office-bearers and senior ministers in the Khandu government denied any such development, party legislators in the state are reportedly unhappy with Khandu’s presence in their midst.   Gao, however, dismissed the reports as false. “Pema Khandu is, and will remain, our chief minister. These rumours are being spread as by some Congress workers,” he told HT over the phone from Delhi. Senior BJP leaders from the state, including Rijiju, Khandu and Gao, are in the national capital to attend the party’s national executive meet – which started on Friday.   Prior to Khandu joining the party, the BJP had 12 MLAs in the state and was a coalition partner in the PPA-led North East Development Alliance (NEDA) government. With 33 PPA MLAs joining the party and two Congress legislators switching sides, the BJP’s strength in the 60-member assembly has gone up to 47. Two independent MLAs also support Khandu’s government.   “There is no question of Khandu being replaced as there are no differences among our MLAs, neither the old members nor the new ones who joined from the PPA. We have all settled in here comfortably,” deputy chief minister Chowna Mein said.   Khandu became the chief minister as a Congress legislator in July last year. He switched sides to join the PPA in September, and then entered the BJP after he and 10 other MLAs were suspended for anti-party activities.   Meanwhile, the PPA remains undecided on being a part of the coalition government in the state as well as continuing with NEDA, the BJP-led alliance of regional parties opposed to the Congress. “We have taken up the issue with NEDA convenor and senior Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. A decision will be taken after a meeting in Guwahati next week,” said PPA chairman Kamen Ringu.   After the desertion of Khandu and the 32 legislators, the regional outfit is now left with 10 MLAs.  

Developments in Arunachal to affect Manipur polls: PPA

  GUWAHATI, JANUARY 6 (TNN): Ousted from power by BJP, a bitter People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) said the political instability in Arunachal Pradesh would have a bearing on the saffron party's poll prospects in Manipur. The leaders of PPA, which lost 33 of its Arunachal MLAs including chief minister Pema Khandu to BJP on December 31, said the events in the frontier state were a setback for regional parties that make up the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).   The NEDA is a BJP-led platform comprising non-Congress regional parties and was formed in July last year after the saffron party won the Assam election. While no party from Manipur is part of the alliance, Naga People's Front (NPF) is. The NPF, which is the ruling party in neighbouring Nagaland, expects to do well in the Naga-dominated areas of Manipur. The PPA, on the other hand, is yet to take a decision on whether it would remain in close contact with BJP as part of the alliance. "Whatever happened in Arunachal Pradesh is not good for NEDA. The regional parties and BJP must work together. If there is mistrust, NEDA's purpose will not be served," PPA chairman Kamen Ringu said. "If BJP retains this tendency (of capturing power through the back door), other regional parties in other states will also be worried," said PPA chief Kahfa Bengia.   The BJP, however, ruled out any adverse impact of the developments in Arunachal on NEDA or the Manipur election. "In fact, we will do well in Manipur. There will be no negative impact on NEDA's prospects. It is PPA which treated BJP badly by temporarily suspending chief minister Pema Khandu, deputy chief minister Chowna Mein and other MLAs," Arunachal state BJP president Tapir Gao said.   Sources said the NEDA would discuss the Arunachal crisis in a meeting on Monday.