Northeast Desk, 18th March: In a significant political twist, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate has risen as a formidable challenger in the longstanding Congress bastion, formerly dominated by ex-Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, who secured victory for six consecutive terms since 1994.
The BJP’s nomination of Er Ratu Techi, a retired Superintendent Engineer from the Public Works Department, has sparked a notable migration of Congress workers and leaders to the BJP fold. Techi’s selection as the BJP candidate for the 15th Sagalee Assembly constituency of Papum Pare, previously held by Tuki, garnered enthusiastic support in Sagalee town.
Amid this political tumult, Tuki, recently stepping down from his role as President of the Arunachal Pradesh Congress, aims to reinvigorate grassroots politics to confront the challenge posed by Techi, a local luminary from Nimte in the Sagalee constituency. Despite these developments, Tuki’s entrenched influence in Sagalee remains palpable, given his extensive tenure of six terms.
In a media interaction, Ratu Techi emphasized the pivotal role of the ruling party in fostering development, urging Sagalee’s constituents to eschew the Congress candidate and rally behind the BJP for the rapid progress of Sagalee. Techi, a devout Christian, dispelled notions of the BJP’s antagonism towards minorities or Christians, affirming the party’s commitment to inclusive growth.
The Sagalee constituency, situated proximately 70-80 km from the capital Itanagar, lags in developmental indices, grappling with inadequate educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and decrepit village roads like Mengio and Parang, which have languished in disrepair for decades.
While expressing admiration for Nabam Tuki as a commendable individual, Techi critiqued his alignment with the Congress, attributing it to impeding the region’s developmental pace. A palpable yearning for transformative leadership and bolstered support for the ruling BJP, under the stewardship of PM Modi and CM Pema Khandu, underscores the shifting political dynamics in Sagalee constituency.