As Pema Khandu took the oath of office as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday, his predecessors Nabam Tuki and Kalikho Pul, erstwhile political foes, sat in the front row.
For Mr. Pul, it may have been a bitter experience to see the man he had denied a ministerial berth in his government being sworn in as his successor. This was the chink in Mr. Pul’s armour, the BJP suspects, despite the support of 41 MLAs.
Top sources in the Congress and the BJP said Mr. Khandu and Mr. Chowna Main (now Deputy Chief Minister) were the two MLAs who reopened talks with the Congress in June. For Mr. Khandu, son of the late Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and a Minister in the previous two governments in the State, being kept out of the Pul Ministry was an insult. Mr. Main had issues with Mr. Pul’s plans to merge the People’s Party of Arunachal with the BJP.
Therefore, when the Supreme Court restored the Nabam Tuki government, former Union Minister Kapil Sibal was roped in to persuade Mr. Tuki to give up his claims to the chief ministerial chair, and Mr. Khandu and Mr. Main were told to discuss among their loyalists of around 14 MLAs who would be the new Congress Legislative Party head.
All this while the whole group of 41 MLAs who had just a few months go sworn loyalty to Mr. Pul, were in Guwahati for the grand launch of the North Eastern Development Alliance (NEDA), a part of the NDA. Matters were kept utmost secret, including the fact that regular messages were being exchanged between Mr. Khandu and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Main and the Congress leaders Mr. Sibal and AICC secretary Jayakumar.
As the MLAs returned to Itanagar, each of them received an invitation for dinner at Mr. Tuki’s residence. “In all, 23 MLAs had turned up at Mr. Tuki’s residence on Friday evening,” said a source.
Pasang Dorjee Sona, MLA from Mechuka, was instrumental in persuading stragglers that the Supreme Court’s restoration of status quo meant that staying out of the legislative party grouping could leave them vulnerable to expulsion was also a key factor in the legislators’ rethink. “There are three more years to go for this Assembly. No MLA is keen on elections at this point,” said a senior Congress MLA in the State.
The BJP, on its part, claimed victory in the fact that Mr. Tuki was no longer Chief Minister. “We always said Tuki did not have a majority. His resignation proves the BJP right as well as the actions of the Governor (J.P. Rajkhowa),” said party national secretary Shrikant Sharma.
