Victory is "confirmed": Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu ahead of simultaneous polls

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], April 16 (ANI): Days ahead of the simultaneous Assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls in Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu, in a freewheeling conversation with ANI, exuded confidence in winning the polls this time, saying that the voters have already made up their minds and their victory is "confirmed.""A lot of work has happened here. Seeing this, everyone has made up their minds in Arunachal that they will be voting for the BJP this time as well. This is confirmed. Polling is only a formality. People have already decided whom they will vote for," the Chief Minister said on Tuesday.

The north-eastern border state will be voting for its 60-member Legislative Assembly on Friday, along with the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. The state contributes two seats to the Lok Sabha.

Speaking on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being declared the winner in 10 seats after being elected unopposed, Khandu said, "This is due to BJP's work in Arunachal."On the remaining 50 seats, the Chief Minister said that the BJP's win is "confirmed" in all these seats as well.

"The election process is going on in 50 seats. Even there it is confirmed that the BJP will win all 50 seats. People in Arunachal were so neglected for long that after the Modi government came to power, the help that Arunachal Pradesh and the north-east received from Arunachal Pradesh, people are so impressed with their performance in the state that they are going to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party one-sidedly. We are going to win all 60 seats," Khandu said.

Speaking about his party's election manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections as well as the Assembly, the Chief Minister said, "In the Sankalp Patra, PM Narendra Modi has aimed for a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. We have mentioned all the sectors, keeping in view our long-term agendas, whether agriculture or allied, youth, women empowerment, employment generation, investment, education, health- it has reflected on all sectors.""Last time, we were able to reach people through various schemes, through which many people have benefited. This time, at places where work has been successfully implemented, we have increased the parameters of these schemes, and we want to increase the reach of our schemes," he added.

Speaking on the rampant infrastructure boost in the border state which has a challenging terrain, Khandu said, "Arunachal Pradesh is a challenging state. Work has been done to develop the infrastructure of the state, under the leadership of PM Modi in this tenure. In the next tenure of PM Modi, we aim to connect those villages which are not yet connected by roads."The Chief Minister said that the state faced problems in terms of connectivity but in the last 10 years, it has got a huge connectivity push from the BJP government.

"Arunachal Pradesh had a basic problem of connectivity. Be it roadways, railways or airways. Hence, there was not much investment in the states across various sectors. In the last 10 years, work has been done to increase connectivity in the region. Roads have been built, several airports have come up, there are advanced landing grounds at eight places, three airports have connectivity through the UDAN scheme. Work on railways is going on at the foothills," CM Khandu said.

The Chief Minister said that though Arunachal has a challenging economy, it has a lot of potential in the tourism sector.

"Though Arunachal Pradesh has a challenging economy, it also has a lot of potential. Tourism has a lot of potential in different regions. The cultural dynamics is also different across the state. In Western Arunachal, Buddhist culture dominates. In central or eastern Arunachal, several indigenous tribes reside, resulting in cultural diversity. Tourism is an upcoming sector that will benefit people directly or indirectly," Khandu said.

Highlighting that the state is a hotspot of biodiversity, the Chief Minister emphasised that green and non-polluting industries are encouraged in the state.

"Arunachal Pradesh has forest coverage of 80 per cent. It is a rich hotspot of biodiversity. Keeping this in view, we would like to have green industries in this region. We will encourage green and non-polluting industries in our region," Khandu said.

Speaking on the upskilling of youths in the state, the Chief Minister said, "The government has a limitation. We will not be able to provide everyone with government jobs. Our youth do well in business line as well. We started an incubation centre in 2020...We train them for nine years as well by coming to a mentorship agreement with IIM Kolkata...In the coming term, we intend to organise a business platform in which venture capitalists will come and give their support to the youth."Speaking about the Arunachal Pradesh paper leak scandal, that landed the state government at the eye of a controversy, Khandu said, "When we came to know about the paper leak, we investigated it minutely. Several organisations have demanded that a central agency should work in the case. So we requested the CBI to investigate the case. To establish the money trail, we have also called the NIA. Both CBI and the NIA are investigating the case. Since the Public Service Committee is an autonomous body, the government cannot have direct control over it."Explaining in detail, the Chief Minister said, "All Members and the Chairman at that time submitted their resignations. We said that this system needs overhauling. A new Commission has been formed. Members and a new chairman have taken it over. A new team has been formed. The Commission has requested new SOPs. Very soon there will be advertisements for more than 1000 vacant posts."On the prospect of the BJP candidates from Arunachal West and Arunachal East in the Lok Sabha polls, the Chief Minister said, "Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, developmental work has been done in both the parliamentary constituencies. Both the candidates, Kiren Rijiju and Tapir Gao, are sitting MPs and senior leaders in their party. They will win by an even greater margin this time."On the prospect of the opposition Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Arunachal Pradesh, Khandu said, "Congress has fielded former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki from Arunachal West. He had contested in 2019 as well when he was the former Chief Minister. The Congress has filed its nomination only in 19 constituencies out of 60. They have not even got candidates in other constituencies. So, it is evident that Congress cannot contest the Lok Sabha polls in 2024."Speaking on central leaders of the Congress not coming to campaign in Arunachal Pradesh, the Chief Minister said, "The Congress has already accepted its defeat. So they are not campaigning here. Their contest is only a formality."On China renaming 30 villages in Arunachal Pradesh, the Chief Minister says, "This is the fourth time that this thing happened. The Ministry of External Affairs of India is officially handling the situation through diplomatic channels. I condemn this act of China." (ANI)