BJP set to put up stiff challenge to Congress in 2 Arunachal seats

Itanagar: The two Lok Sabha seats of Arunachal Pradesh, going to polls on April 11, are considered Congress strongholds, but tough contests are likely in both, with the BJP putting up a stiff challenge, analysts said.

The two LS constituencies of the state--Arunachal East and Arunachal West--have been traditional bastions of the Congress party which has won each of the seats seven times since 1977, when the state voted in a general election for the first time.

The Arunachal East seat, with 27 assembly segments, is likely to witness a tough fight between Tapir Gao of the BJP and James Lowangcha Wanglat of the Congress, according to analysts. Two new faces - Bandey Mili of the Janata Dal (Secular) and Mongol Yomso of the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) - along with independent candidate C C Singpho have also joined the race.

The BJP had emerged successful from Arunachal East in 2004, while Independent candidates won the seat in 1977 and 1996. In the 2009 and 2014 elections, Congress nominee Ninong Ering had won the seat. Tapir Gao had finished second in 2014 Lok Sabha polls when he lost by 12,478 votes.

Gao, who is also the state BJP president, had wrested the constituency from Wangcha Rajkumar of the Congress in 2004 by a margin of 44,994 votes.