Polling begins for Arunachal assembly, LS seats

Itanagar, April 9 (IANS) Balloting began Wednesday for Arunachal Pradesh's two Lok Sabha constituencies and 60-member state assembly, officials said.

Polling will be held for 49 assembly seats, as 11 Congress candidates, including Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, have already been elected unopposed.

A total of 155 people will contest for the 49 seats.

As many as 11 candidates are vying for the two Lok Sabha seats - both reserved for tribals.

Altogether, 753,170 voters would exercise their right to franchise for both the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in 2,158 polling stations.

In 2009, the Congress won both the Lok Sabha seats - Arunachal West and Arunachal East.

The Congress or its breakaway groups have been in power in Arunachal Pradesh since 1980. The only time when the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power was in 2003. But the BJP government lasted for only 42 days.

In 2004, the Congress bagged 34 of the 60 assembly seats. It improved its tally in 2009 to 42. While the BJP bagged three and the NCP five seats, as many as 10 seats were captured by local parties and independents.