OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: Despite facing flak for his outspokenness from the opposition and voters, and being embroiled in controversy, two-time Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao has remained popular. Born on October 1, 1964, in Molom in Arunachal Pradesh’s present Siang district, Gao completed his Master’s Degree in Political Science.
Before embarking into politics, he was involved in community development activities, which in turn, provided him a strong foundation in his political career. Gao has been a force to reckon with in the state politics by winning the 2004 Lok Sabha election against his principal rival, Congress’ Wangcha Rajkumar.
The 60-year-old, who was involved in an audio clip that went viral involving a woman just before the 2019 simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls, has been able to strengthen the ruling party in the northeastern state.
He lost the seat in 2009 and 2014 elections but remained loyal to the BJP and its ideology. In the 2019 polls, he made a strong comeback and was elected to the Lok Sabha for the second time defeating Congress’ Lowangcha Wanglat.
Gao’s outspokenness can be gauged from the fact that he has not spared his own party in the parliament. In September 2020, Gao raised the twin issues of alleged Chinese ‘incursion and occupation drives’ in the frontier state. He highlighted the incursions by Chinese troops in Chaglagam in Anjaw district, and in places in Dibang Valley and Upper Subansiri district.
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