Arunachal Assembly session: Newly elected MLAs take oath

Itanagar: All 59 newly elected MLAs, including Chief Minister Pema Khandu, took the oath administered by Pro-tem Speaker Ninong Ering on Friday.

Eleven MLAs took oath in Hindi, and the rest in English and local languages.

Officials said the two-day special session was summoned by Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) K. T. Parnaik.

The Speaker and Deputy Speaker are likely to be elected on Saturday.

Only four women have been elected to the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly in this election, one more than the previous number, and comprise 6.66 per cent of its 60 members.

A total of 20 first-timers tasted electoral success in the Assembly polls. Of them, 11 are from the ruling BJP, four from the National People's Party, two each from the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and one independent.

Pema Khandu took oath as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister for the third straight term on Thursday.

Governor administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and 10 other Cabinet Ministers, including one woman at the Dorjee Khandu Convention Centre in Itanagar.

The BJP secured 46 seats -- five more than its 2019 tally -- in the 60-member Assembly.

Of these, 10 seats, including that of CM Khandu, were won uncontested before the polls.

The National People’s Party (NPP) headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma won five seats, followed by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP at three, the People’s Party of Arunachal with two, and the Congress one. Three seats were won by Independent nominees.

The NPP, the NCP and the PPA have already announced their support to the BJP government.