Congress loses government, face in Arunachal

The Congress-led government in Arunachal Pradesh fell like a pack of cards on Friday, with 43 of its 44 MLAs, led by chief minister Pema Khandu himself, walking over to the People’s Party of Arunachal, a regional party owing allegiance to the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).

The Khandu-led Congress had come to power only two months back, after a Supreme Court (SC) ruling overturned the BJP government formed by Congress rebels headed by Kalikho Pul. In December last year, Pul led a bunch of Congress rebels and staked claim to form a government from reigning CM Nabam Tuki. However, eight months later, a five-member bench called the Pul government unconstitutional and dismissed it. Pul, who was left in the lurch after the Congress government was reinstated and his rebel supporters deserted him, hung himself to death in the first week of August.

The embarrassment led the Centre to drop governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa, who was sacked four days ago, after he refused to quit on health grounds.

The BJP has been eyeing Arunachal ever since, with several MLAs already showing their malleability. Things moved fast after Union ministers Smriti Irani, Kiren Rijiju and Mansukh Mandaviya, and the BJP's north-east in-charge Ram Madhav visited Itanagar on Tuesday to persuade Khandu to make the move.

A posse of Congress MLAs swiftly landed in New Delhi to speak to the BJP leadership, who advised them to move to the PPA so that the BJP’s 11 MLAs are not harmed. With his government dependent on the Centre for funds, Khandu had just two choices before him: either side with a friendly government in Delhi or go forfresh polls. The second option was not backed by manyMLAs as they did not want a reelection before 2019.

In fact, Khandu himself made it clear in no uncertain terms. “It is an undeniable fact that a resource-stressed state like Arunachal has to depend on the Centre for its needs. It is difficult to make things done at the Centre with political differences,” he told reporters.

This is the second time this year that the BJP isallegedly engineering a political turnaround in the state.However, the party denied the charge. Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said that the BJP had no role in the development in Arunachal Pradesh. “Congress MLAs, including the CM, are angry with their own central leadership. In New Delhi, they are made to wait for 4-5days to meet their own leaders. These are the things that are behind the development,” he said.

Assam BJP leader and NEDA convenor Himanta Biswa Sharma echoed the view”. “The Congress high command’s disconnect with the regional leaders is the reaso. When Khandu became the CM, he went to Delhi on a Sunday, and PM Modi gave him the charge barely hours after he reached. It took his own party chief Rahul Gandhi two more days to eventually meet him on Tuesday,” said Sharma.

“The Arunachal development is proving how the BJP is cementing its hold in the region, and we hope to do well in Manipur, too,” he said.
A furious Congress accused the BJP of engineering mass defection using "money and muscle power" and talked of "democracy under threat."

Congress general secretary CP Joshi, in-charge of thenorth-east affairs, asserted at an AICC press briefing that Khandu buckled under the threat of squeezing offunds by the Centre to the state and claimed that the same politics was being played in Manipur and Meghalaya as well.

With Manipur going to polls next year, the BJP has managed to swing Congress MLA Yumkham Erabot. Rumours of more rebel Congress MLAs joining the BJP have been making the rounds.

Mizoram governor V Shanmuganathan, who is Arunachal's interim governor, is not in Itanagar, and, hence, it may take some time before Khandu takes fresh oath.