Pema Khandu today took oath as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister for the third time, weeks after the BJP swept the Assembly polls.
Arunachal Pradesh governor KT Parnaik administered the oath to Mr Khandu at a ceremony in Itanagar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, ministers JP Nadda and Kiren Rijiju and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were among those present.
The BJP won 46 out of the 60 seats in Arunachal Assembly in the state polls held alongside the general election.
Forty-four-year Khandu, a former Congress leader, started in first stint as Chief Minister in 2016 when he replaced Nabam Tuki. Later that year, 43 MLAs led by him switched from the Congress to BJP ally, People’s Party of Arunachal. This was followed by dramatic developments when the PPA leadership suspended Mr Khandu. The Chief Minister then proved his majority in the Assembly after 33 PPA lawmakers joined the BJP.
In the Assembly polls in 2019, he led the BJP to a landslide win and repeated the feat in this year’s election.
