GUWAHATI: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu is likely to face the first contest of his life in electoral politics in upcoming state elections which will be held simultaneously with Parliamentary elections.
Lobsang Gyatso, a Buddhist monk, is gearing up to give Khandu a run for his money. Gyatso has already announced that he will contest the polls from Khandu’s Mukto constituency in Tawang district.
Khandu’s life in electoral politics began as a minister in June 2011 when he had won a by-election from Mukto unopposed. The by-election was necessitated as his father, the then CM Dorjee Khandu, had died in a chopper crash. Following the victory, he was inducted into the then Jarbom Gamlin ministry. He was re-elected unopposed in the 2014 Arunachal election and in 2016, he donned the CM’s mantle at 37 years following a year-long power struggle between former CMs Nabam Tuki and Kalikho Pul.
Incidentally, the famous Khandu family has not had to face a contest in Mukto in the past 15 years during which four elections, including the by-election, were held in the seat. Dorjee Khandu had won the elections of 2004 and 2009 unopposed. Also, the Mukto seat has been held by the family since 1990.
From the state’s first legislative Assembly in 1990 to 2009, the Khandu senior had contested the elections five times from Mukto and he was the winner on all occasions, thrice unopposed (1990, 2004 and 2009).
The Tawang district has three Assembly constituencies, Tawang, Lumla besides Mukto. Tsering Tashi, the Tawang MLA, is a brother of the incumbent CM.
Pema Khandu will go to the polls against the backdrop of the recent violence over his BJP government’s move to grant permanent residence certificate to six non-tribal communities. The four-day long violence had claimed the lives of three people.
Elections in Arunachal are arguably the most expensive in the country but Gyatso said he was not worried he would be up against the CM.
“I understand money plays a big part in Arunachal elections and I don’t have money. Still, I believe the polls in Mukto will be keenly-contested. The seat has been held by the Khandu family all along but now, people are not happy,” the 39-year-old monk claimed in an interview.
For some time, he has been an activist who first came to limelight in 2016 when two people were killed in police firing during a protest by anti-dam activists. He said his aim of becoming a lawmaker and powerful was to put up a fight against hydro-power projects.
“Tawang already has 28 mini and micro hydro-power projects. They generate around 20MW power but the government cannot provide uninterrupted power to the place whose requirement during the peak season is only 6MW. And now, the government is planning to have two more mega hydro-power projects. We want development but it should not be at the cost of environment,” he said.
Asked about his chances, the monk exuded confidence by citing the cases of two lesser-known politicians in the state who had a few years ago managed to defeat formidable rivals who were also rich.
Gyatso, who studied only up to Class X, said he would have contested the 2014 elections if the fellow monks had not opposed. He became a monk at the age of 10. Now, he is not associated with any Buddhist groups and identifies himself as an “independent monk”.
T G Rinpoche is Arunachal’s first and possibly, only monk who had served as a lawmaker.