ITANAGAR: After serving the Congress party and the people of Arunachal Pradesh for six terms, former chief minister Nabam Tuki had probably fought the last political battle of his career.
The 59-year-old political stalwart of the state had tasted defeat to union minister Kiren Rijiju by a margin of 1,00,738 votes in the Arunachal West Parliamentary Constituency, result of which was announced on Tuesday. While Rijiju polled 2,05,417 votes Tuki, the president of Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) could manage 1,04,679 votes.
Political analysts in the state are of the opinion that this election would be the end of Tuki’s political career who has been a key figure in the state politics since he first won from Sagalee assembly constituency in Papum Pare district in 1995.
Sagalee, considered as a strong bastion of the Congress, has been continuously represented by Tuki since 1995. In 2019, Tuki fought in both the Arunachal West Lok Sabha seat and the Sagalee assembly constituency. Though he lost in the Parliamentary polls, he won from his home constituency Sagalee by a slender margin of 1321 votes defeating his nearest rival Tarh Hari of the BJP.
Tuki, however, could manage only 50,953 in the Lok Sabha elections against Rijiju who polled 2,25,796 votes. This year, the loyal Congress leader did not contest the assembly polls and virtually surrendered the Sagalee seat to the BJP where newcomer Ratu Techi won unopposed.
Tuki started his political journey with the grand old party as a student leader. He was president of the state unit National Students’ Union of India from 1983 to 1986; North East NSUI Coordination Committee Chairman from 1984 to 1986; All India NSUI general secretary from 1986 to 1988 and Arunachal Pradesh Youth Congress president from 1988 to 1995.
In 1995, the southpaw was first elected from Sagalee constituency and served as deputy agriculture minister in the Gegong Apang ministry. He also served as transport and civil aviation minister in 1998.
Tuki was subsequently re-elected from the seat in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections and held several portfolios including environment and forest, PWD and Urban Development minister. He held the position of chief minister twice between 2011 and 2016 during a tumultuous period for the state.
In June 2021, the former chief minister was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly awarding contracts to his relatives without following procedures during his tenure as PWD and Urban Development minister.
However, in December 2021, a special court at Yupia accepted CBI's closure report of the investigation after the allegations of corruption against Tuki could not be proved. In August 2022, the Indian National Congress appointed Tuki as the chairman of the Northeast Congress Coordination Committee.
The ever-smiling Tuki has been a constant in the state Congress. His loyalty to the party can be gauged from the fact that he submitted his resignation as Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief this year on moral grounds as he could not prevent party MLAs from defecting to other parties.
It would be hard for the Congress to think of a life without Tuki and it is also true vice-versa. Tuki has been a loyal Congressman all his life and at this juncture, he’s unlikely to quit the party. Tuki's political career, marked by significant achievements and challenges, underscores his enduring commitment to public service.
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