Itanagar, June 2 (FN Agency) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Pema Khandu on Sunday resigned from the top chair along with his Council of Ministers after his party returned to power with a thumping majority in the April 19 Assembly polls. Soon after the poll results came, Khandu called on Governor Lt General (Retd) KT Parnaik at Raj Bhavan here and tendered his resignation along with the Council of Ministers. “The Governor has accepted the resignation and requested Pema Khandu and the Council of Ministers to continue until the new Government is sworn in,” a Raj Bhavan communiqué said.
It also stated that the Governor has, under the provision of Article 174 (2) (b) of the Constitution of India, also accepted the Cabinet’s advice and signed the order to dissolve the Seventh Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh with immediate effect. Mention may be made that the term of the present Assembly expires today itself. In the 60-member Assembly, the BJP has secured 46 seats, including 10 unopposed and CM Khandu is one of those 10 candidates who won without any contest. The National People’s Party (NPP) won five seats, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) got three, and the regional outfit People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) garnered two seats. Opposition Congress has managed to win only one seat. Three Independent candidates also claimed victory in the polls. The Governor, meanwhile, expressed his appreciation to the Chief Minister for ‘successfully’ managing the state administration during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.