Pema Khandu

Pema Khandu is the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. Since becoming chief minister in July 2016, he and his government have twice changed their party affiliation; in September from the Indian National Congress to the Peoples Party of Arunachal,^[2] and then in December 2016 to the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[3] Previously he had served as Minister of Tourism, Urban Development and Water Resources in the state government of Congress leader Nabam Tuki.^[4]

Education

Pema Khandu is a graduate from Hindu College (Delhi University).^[5]

Personal life

He is the eldest son of former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, who died in a helicopter crash on 30 April 2011.

Career

Following his father's death, Khandu was included in the state government as Cabinet Minister of Water Resource Development and Tourism.^[6][7] He won an uncontested election to the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from his father's constituency Mukto on 30 June 2011. He stood as an Indian National Congress candidate.^[8][9]

Khandu became a secretary of the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee in 2005, and the president of the District Congress Committee in Tawang in 2010.^[4] He was elected Congress Legislature Party leader on 16 July 2016.^[10]

Khandu was re-elected unopposed from Mukto in the 2014 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election.^[11] Khandu took the oath as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 17 July 2016 at the age of 37 years following political crisis.

On 16 September 2016, 43 MLAs from the ruling party, under the CM Pema Khandu, left Indian National Congress to join People's Party of Arunachal, in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party. Though Pema Khandu is still the Chief minister, it is soon expected that either a coalition government will be formed with BJP as the speaker of assembly has also changed sides with the CM, or that the Indian Government will dissolve the state assembly for a fresh general elections.^[12]

On December 21, 2016, Khandu was suspended from the party by the party president and Takam Pario was named as the next likely Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh replacing Khandu after People's Party of Arunachal suspended Khandu along with 6 other MLAs.^[13][14][15]

In December 2016, Khandu proved majority on the floor with 33 of the People's Party of Arunachal’s 43 legislators joining the Bharatiya Janata Party as the BJP party increased its strength to 45 and it has the support of two independents. He became second Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh of Bharatiya Janata Party in Arunachal Pradesh after 44 days lead Gegong Apang government in 2003.^[16][17]

References