BJP to join Pema Khandu's PPA government in Arunachal Pradesh
Tamiyo Taga, party leader in the state Assembly, will be inducted into the Cabinet.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will join the Arunachal Pradesh government with party leader Tamiyo Taga to be inducted into the Pema Khandu-led Cabinet on Friday. With this, Arunachal Pradesh will be the 14th state where the BJP is in power, either with majority or in alliance with ruling regional parties.
In September, the Congress was thrown out of power in Arunachal Pradesh when Khandu and 42 other MLAs left the party to join the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA). Former chief minister Nabam Tuki is now the only MLA from the Congress. Currently, the 60-member state Assembly has 43 MLAs from the PPA, 11 BJP members, one Congress MLA and two independent MLAs. Three seats are still vacant. The PPA is a member of the North East Democratic Alliance, which is a part of the National Democratic Alliance.
Khandu was sworn-in as the chief minister in July after the Supreme Court ordered the restoration of the Congress government in the state following months of political turmoil. On July 13, the Supreme Court directed a status quo ante (a return to the original status) in Arunachal Pradesh as it prevailed on December 15, 2015, referring to the time before a rebellion in the Assembly created chaos in the state's political system and led to President's Rule being imposed there.
Earlier this month, Khandu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited the BJP to join his government. According to The Indian Express, Khandu’s supporters believe that the presence of the saffron party in the government will usher in stability in the state.