Arunachal’s lone regional party gets another chance

THAT GOVERNMENT ALSO HAD TO GO AFTER FIVE MONTHS WHEN THE SUPREME COURT TERMED IT UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN JULY AND REINSTATED THE CONGRESS GOVERNMENT.

Power has remained transient for Peoples’ Party of Arunchal (PPA), Arunachal Pradesh’s only regional party formed nearly four decades ago.

Two years after it came into being in 1979, the party had its first chief minister in Tomo Riba. But it was ousted after just 47 days by Congress party’s Gegong Apang, the state longest serving chief minister.

It took the party another 37 years to taste power when Kalikho Pul rebelled against Nabam Tuki’s Congress government and merged it with 29 Congress MLAs to become chief minister in February this year.

That government also had to go after five months when the Supreme Court termed it unconstitutional in July and reinstated the Congress government.

Friday’s political development when chief minister Pema Khandu and 42 other Congress MLAs quit the party to join PPA has given fresh lease of life of to the outfit. “It is difficult to predict the future, but we feel Khandu and others will stay with PPA as ours is a regional party and there is no interference from outside,” said Kamen Ringu, Chairman of PPA. Formed to unite political forces within the state against influx of people from other states and across the borders, PPA merged with Janata Dal in 1989.

The party was revived in 2007 when on Ringu’s request the Election Commission said that its registration was still valid.

In the 2009 assembly election, PPA managed to win 4 of the total 60 seats. But all its legislators soon defected to the Congress. A similar scenario unfolded in 2014 when all 5 of its MLAs switched sides to Congress. BJP IN WAIT AND WATCH MODE OVER JOINING GOVT A day after chief minister Pema Khandu and 42 other Congress MLAs quit the party to join PPA, the saffron party’s 11 legislators in the state were also busy in meetings.

PPA is a constituent of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a BJP-initiated anti-Congress front comprising regional outfits, and there are speculations that the party may join Khandu’s government.

“We would like to be part of the government in the state, but no talks on this have begun. We are awaiting the party high command’s guidelines,” state BJP chief Tapir Gao said.