Chakat Aboh is Consensus Candidate For Khonsa West By-Poll

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: Five political parties in the State on Saturday unanimously decided not to field any candidates for the October 21 by-poll for Khonsa West Assembly constituency and will support the candidature of Chakat Aboh, wife of sitting MLA Tirong Aboh, who was shot dead by suspected NSCN militants during May 21 this year.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu during the day convened an all-party meet at his office wherein all the members present viewed that the by-election was a result of extremely tragic situation and they expressed sympathy with the family members of Aboh who, along with ten others were gunned down by militants.

“The members of the political parties during the meeting decided not to field any candidates but to support Chakat Aboh who will contest the by-election as an Independent candidate,” Khandu told reporters during a press conference here.

Khandu said, Chakat would be supported by the ruling BJP, Opposition Congress, People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), National People’s Party (NPP) and Janata Dal United (JDU).

“If any outside party will contest the by-poll, we all will fight jointly to ensure her (Chakat) victory as a tribute to Tirong Aboh, who sacrificed his life for the cause of the State,” Khandu said.

Responding to a question regarding the status of the investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the case, Khandu informed that two persons have already been arrested in connection with the case and soon the investigating agency would bring the case into a logical conclusion.

The by election was necessitated after Tirong Aboh, who was seeking re-election from the seat in a NPP ticket in the April 11 assembly elections in the state this year, was gunned down by suspected NSCN militants on May 21 this year along with ten others.

Aboh was on his way to his constituency from Dibrugarh in Assam. He later won the seat posthumously.

The Arunachal Pradesh government had decided to hand over the case to the NIA to investigate into the matter on June this year and accordingly on August 16 last, the NIA arrested Yangte Josaham, a self-styled Lieutenant of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and another one, in connection with the murder of Tirong Aboh.

The law enforcement agency arrested the 45-year-old from Nagaland’s Dimapur district in a joint operation with a local Military Intelligence (MI) unit.

Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Nabam Tuki, BJP state unit president Tapir Gao, PPA Working Committee Chairman Kameng Ringu, JDU state unit president Ruhi Tagung and NPP National General Secretary Mutchu Mithi were present during the press conference.

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