Arunachal Pradesh Assembly polls: Congress releases first list of candidates
The Congress on Thursday released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Arunachal Pradesh Assembly elections. A delegation of the party leaders met with election commissioners earlier in the day at the Nirvachan Sadan and released the list. Notably, Arunachal Pradesh will go to Assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously.
Why does this story matter?
There are 60 seats in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly, of which 53 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. The state has two Lok Sabha constituencies—Arunachal Pradesh East and Arunachal Pradesh West. Arunachal will vote for the assembly and the Lok Sabha polls together on April 19, 2024. The counting of votes for the assembly elections will be held on June 2, while that for Lok Sabha polls will be done with the rest of the nation on June 4.
Congress yet to release names for 2 Lok Sabha seats
The Congress's first list has named 34 candidates for the assembly elections. Among the candidates are three former ministers and three women candidates, reports said. Notably, majority of the candidates are first time contenders. The party is yet to name candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Read: Congress's first list for Arunachal Pradesh Assembly polls
BJP announced candidates list of 60 last week
On March 13, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its candidates across all the 60 seats in the state. The ruling party dropped 14 of its sitting MLAs, including three ministers in the state government. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has been announced as BJP candidate from Mukto, the seat he represented in 2019 as well.
