Two Congress MLAs and two legislators from the National People’s Party (NPP) joined the ruling BJP on Sunday in Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu, in a post on X, said, "Warmly welcomed Hon Congress MLAs -Ninong Ering and Wanglin Lowangdong; and 2 NPP MLAs Mutchu Mithi and Gokar Basar in the BJP."
The Congress and NPP now have two MLAs each in the 60-member assembly.
Senior Congress MLA and former union minister Ninong Ering (Pasighat West seat) and Wanglin Lowangdong (Borduria-Bogapani constituency) joined the saffron party during a function in the presence of Khandu at its headquarters in Itanagar.
NPP’s Mutchu Mithi (Roing seat) and Gokar Basar (Basar constituency) also switched to the saffron party.
Later, in a post on X, Khandu said the joining of the MLAs will “further fortify our base in their respective constituencies and Arunachal Pradesh”.
“Their joining of party is a testament to their faith in the principles of good governance championed by Hon PM Shri @narendramodi Ji,” he said.
“Together, we look forward to continuing our commitment to the principles of inclusive development and people-centric welfare,” the CM added.
Major boost for BJP ahead of crucial polls
With Sunday’s development, the BJP now has 53 MLAs in the House, while three independent MLAs extend outside support to the government. The Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls will be simultaneously held in the northeastern state later this year.
