Giants like Gegong Apang tumbled like cards. A renewed threat from China became a major issue. Rains almost played spoilsport,preventing both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi from campaigning. Yet Dorjee Khandu,a Monpa tribal born in March 1955 at Gyangkhar,a remote village bordering China,and a person who studied only up to Class VIII,and that too in Bhoti language,has managed to win the elections for his party quite comfortably. Congress under Khandu has won 42 seats,more than two-third,in the 60-member Assembly,of which three including him were elected unopposed. And this victory (compared to only 34 in 2004 under Apang) acme despite the fact that several giants like Apang have lost. Khandu probably made a different impact among the voters for whom Apang had become too common a face with nothing new to offer. Khandu,who replaced Apang in April 2007,came up with several sweeping reforms,which included revamping the public distribution system,a welfare scheme that had landed up in a massive scam under Apang. Khandu also revived the Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank,which too had almost ended up in a scam,and then had the blessings of the UPA government,more particularly Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,who in January 2008 announced a massive economic package for the state. The prime ministers package worked like magic. It has already started impacting the lives of the people. Roads have improved,communication has become better,and education has received a major boost across the state, Khandu said. However,it is the individual more than the party that influences the average voter the most during elections. Elections in Arunachal Pradesh is a money game. Candidates spend like anything,and election observers seem to look the other way, alleged Bamang Tago,president of Arunachal Citizens Right (ACR),an NGO that harped on assets of the candidates throughout the campaign period. People also looked at individual candidates,how they dealt with people,how they spent funds meant for the masses, said Kito Sora,president of the state unit of Trinamool Congress. Khandu,however,insisted it was the development card that worked in favour of the Congress. The people,especially the young people,want to march forward,and we have been able to touch the right chord in their hearts, he said. About Rs 700 crore have come to the state exchequer through MoUs for power projects and that also impacted the results.
