Will Arunachal Pradesh Get a New Chief Minister?

Arunachal Pradesh is no stranger to political crises. The 2016 crisis saw the exit of the Chief Minister Nabam Tuki of the Congress amidst a game of musical chairs with MLAs switching from the Congress to the People’s Party of Arunachal Pradesh to the BJP. The earlier crisis in 2011 led to Nabam Tuki being sworn in as Chief Minister. The crisis arose when the then Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin made allegedly derogatory remarks about the Nyishi community. The Nyishi community is numerically the most powerful constituency in Arunachal Pradesh, and as could be seen in the 2011 crisis, capable of breaking and making a government. In the 2011 crisis, the community had declared shutdowns in Itanagar and agitations were taken out forcing Jarbom Gamlin to resign as the Chief Minister and paving the way for Nabam Tuki.

According to ANI the present Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu of the BJP made derogatory remarks about a senior MLA from the Nyishi community, Takam Pario, in which Khandu referred to him as a ‘dog’. The All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) as well as the Nyishi Elite Society (NES), two powerful pressure groups, on the 4th of December called for Pema Khandu’s resignation. They demanded that he resign by the 11th of December. If this demand is not met, a 12 hour shutdown will be declared on the 15th of December, followed by a 24 hour shutdown on 21st December and a 36 hour shutdown on 29th December.

The state BJP has gone into damage control mode. On 5th December, after the ultimatums from ANYA and NES, they referred to the Chief Minister’s statements as being ‘not personal’, and that proceedings of the house are ‘not brought to the public domain to touch the sentiments of the people’. It is yet to be seen whether these words can ward off the shutdowns declared on the 15th, 21st, and 29th of December.