1978 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
25 February 1978
All 30 seats in the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
16 seats needed for a majority
Registered224,839
Turnout73.20%
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Prem Khandu Thungan
Party JP PPA
Seats won 17 8
Seat change New New
Elected Chief Minister

Prem Khandu Thungan
JP

The first elections to the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly were held in on 25 February 1978.[1][2]

There were 30 single-member constituencies at the time of the election, out of whom two were reserved for Scheduled Tribes.[2] There was a total of 86 candidates participating. The maximum number of candidates was found in the Ziro constituency, with six candidates. In two constituencies (Prem Khandu Thungan from Dirang, Kalaktang and Noksong Boham from Niasua-Kanubari) there was only one candidate, who was elected unopposed. There were 29 Janata Party candidates, 21 People's Party of Arunachal candidates, 1 Indian National Congress candidate (Shri Tasso Grayu) and 35 independents in the fray.[2] The speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Nonemati, contested as a Janata Party candidate from Khonsa North constituency.[3] A total of 105 nominations had been presented, out of which 3 had been rejected by the Election Commission (a PPA candidate from Yingdiono-Pangin constituency, an independent from Ziro and an independent from Along North).[3]

A peculiar situation for the tribal societies of the Union Territory was the fact that in many constituencies members of the same families (even brothers) or clans fought against each other for different parties.[3] There were only two female candidates (Nyari Welly and Omem Deori) standing in the election. Neither was elected.[2]

Janata Party won 17 seats, compared to 8 seats for the PPA. 5 seats were won by independents.[2] Following the election a five-member cabinet was sworn in on 14 March 1978, headed by Janata Party leader Prem Khandu Thungan as Chief Minister.[1][4] Other ministers were Gegong Apang, Tadar Tang, Soben Tayang and Nokme.[1] The newly elected assembly held its first session in Itanagar on 21 March 1978.[5] Three members were nominated by the Governor to sit in the Assembly, amongst them was one woman (Sibo Kai).[6][7]

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Janata Party66,90642.0817New
People's Party of Arunachal48,07530.248New
Indian National Congress7200.450New
Independents43,28727.235New
Total158,988100.0030New
Valid votes158,98896.60
Invalid/blank votes5,5993.40
Total votes164,587100.00
Registered voters/turnout224,83973.20
Source: ECI[2]

Elected Members

Constituency Reserved for
(SC/ST/None)		 Member Party
Tawang-iNoneKarma Wangchu Independent
Tawang - IiNoneTashi Khandu Independent
Dirang KalaktangNonePrem Khandu Thungon (uncontested) Janata Party
BomdilaNoneRinchin Kharu Janata Party
SeppaNoneDonglo Sonam Janata Party
ChayangtajoNoneKameng Dolo Janata Party
KoloriangNoneChera Talo Janata Party
Nyapin PalinNoneTadar Tang Janata Party
Doimukh SagaleeNoneTara Sinda Janata Party
ZiroNonePadi Yubbe Janata Party
Raga-taliNoneNido Techi Janata Party
DaporijoNoneTadak Dulom Janata Party
Toksing TalihaNoneTara Payeng People's Party of Arunachal
MechukaNoneTadik Chije Independent
Along NorthNoneLium Ronya People's Party of Arunachal
Along SouthNoneBoken Ette Independent
BasarNoneTomo Riba People's Party of Arunachal
PalinSTSutem Tasung People's Party of Arunachal
Yingkiong PanginNoneGegong Apang Janata Party
Mariyang MeboNoneOnyok Rome People's Party of Arunachal
KoloriangSTTade Tachc Independent
RoingNoneAken Lego People's Party of Arunachal
Nomsai ChowkhamNoneChow Tewa Mien Janata Party
Tezu HayuliangNoneSobeng Tayeng Janata Party
Noadehing NampongNoneJungpum Jugli People's Party of Arunachal
ChanglangNoneTengam Janata Party
Khonsa SouthNoneSijen Kongkang People's Party of Arunachal
Khonsa NorthNoneNokmey Namati Janata Party
Niausa KanubariNoneNoksong Boham (uncontested) Janata Party
Pongchau WakkaNoneWangnam Wangshu Janata Party

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kumar, Sudhir. Political and Administrative Setup of Union Territories in India. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications, 1991. pp. 115-116
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1978 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH Archived 27 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 3 Shiv Lal. Elections Under the Janata Rule. New Delhi: Election Archives, 1978. p. 23
  4. ↑ Karlo, Rejir. Emerging Pattern of Tribal Leadership in Arunachal Pradesh. New Delhi: Commonwealth Publ, 2005. p. 34
  5. ↑ Chowdhury, Jyotirindra Nath. Arunachal Pradesh, from Frontier Tracts to Union Territory. New Delhi: Cosmo, 1983. p. 365
  6. ↑ Johsi, H. G. Arunachal Pradesh: Past and Present. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications, 2005. p. 123
  7. ↑ Karna, M. N. Social Movements in North-East India. New Delhi: Indus Pub. Co, 1998. p. 64
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