Assembly Election 2024: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in Arunachal Pradesh for the third time in a row, as the party won 46 seats in the 60-member assembly and secured a majority. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Arunachal Pradesh for reposing their faith in the BJP yet again and said the party will keep working with even greater vigour for the state's growth. 

"Thank you Arunachal Pradesh! The people of this wonderful state have given an unequivocal mandate to politics of development. My gratitude to them for reposing their faith in @BJP4Arunachal yet again," Modi said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, in another state, Sikkim, the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) has swept the state assembly polls by winning 31 out of 32 seats. . The Chief of SKM and incumbent Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang met the Governor and staked claims to form the next government. The leading opposition party in the state, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), won only one constituency this time. The BJP, Congress, and Citizen Action Party-Sikkim (CAP-S), which fought polls separately, failed to open their accounts.

Arunachal Assembly Polls

The counting of the votes began at 6 a.m. on Sunday to decide the candidate with the maximum number of votes in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh. The BJP had an edge in the polls, as it has won 10 of the 60 seats in the state uncontested. Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein had already won their respective seats.

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The BJP has increased its 2019 tally in the state by winning 46 seats, five more than the last election in the 60-member Assembly. The National People's Party (NPP), which won five seats in the 2019 assembly elections, also won five seats. The People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) candidates won two seats: Doimukh and Mebo. Independent candidates Wanglam Sawin, Laisam Simai, and Tenzin Nyima Glow have won the Khonsa (East), Nampong, and Thrizino-Buragaon seats, respectively. The Congress, which had fielded 19 seats, won the Bameng seat, where party candidate Kumar Waii defeated BJP candidate Doba Lamnio by a margin of 635 votes.

In the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP  won 41 seats in Arunachal Pradesh. The Janata Dal (United) bagged seven, the National People's Party (NPP) five, Congress four, and the Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) one. Two independents also won in the Assembly polls. All except one Congress MLA, former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, joined the BJP.

Arunachal CM Pema Khandu Tender Resignation

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Sunday called on the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Lt General KT Parnaik (Retd), at Raj Bhavan, Itanagar, and tendered his resignation along with the Council of Ministers. The governor has accepted the resignation and requested that Pema Khandu and the Council of Ministers continue until the new government is sworn in. 

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According to Article 174 (2) (b) of the Constitution, the Governor has also accepted the Cabinet's advice and signed the order to dissolve the Seventh State Assembly with immediate effect. The Governor also expressed his appreciation to the Chief Minister for successfully managing the state administration during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.

Sikkim Assembly Polls 

The polling for the 32 assembly seats in Sikkim was held simultaneously on April 19, in the first phase of the just concluded Lok Sabha elections. The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) returned to power by sweeping the polls in the Himalayan state, winning 31 of the 32 seats. The opposition Sikkim Democratic Front won only one seat. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang for their victory and said that he is looking forward to working with the state government to further the progress of the state. 

"Congratulations to SKM and CM PS Tamang Golay for their victory in the Sikkim Assembly Elections 2024. I look forward to working with the State Government to further the progress of Sikkim in the coming times," PM Modi posted on X.
 
PM Modi also thanked the people of Sikkim who voted for the BJP and praised the Karyakartas of the Sikkim BJP. The Chief Minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Tamang, responded to PM Modi's post and said that they are committed to continuing our efforts towards the development and prosperity of Sikkim.

As Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won the Sikkim Assembly Elections, CM and SKM chief Prem Singh Tamang said that the government will fulfill all the announcements that they made at the time of the elections. Prem Singh Tamang, the incumbent Chief Minister of Sikkim and leader of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), has won the elections from the Rhenock Assembly seat. Tamang defeated Som Nath Poudyal by over 7,396 votes.

In the 2019 assembly polls, the SKM won 17 seats, while the SDF secured 15 seats.