As the results for the 3 north-eastern states Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya trickle in, the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate from the Lumla constituency in Arunachal Pradesh emerged victorious uncontested in the by-polls held on February 27. BJP fielded Tsering Lhamu in the Lumla assembly constituency in Tawang district and no opposition party fielded a candidate.
It is notable that in 2019, BJP leader Jambey Tashi was elected from Lumla after he defeated National People’s Party (NPP) candidate Jampa Thirnly Kunkhap by a margin of 1288 votes.
What necessitated the recently held by-polls was the sudden demise of the incumbent BJP leader in November last year at the age of 48. Jambey Tashi had represented the Lumla constituency for three consecutive terms since 2009.
The People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) had fielded a ‘gaon burha’ or village headman Leki Norbu as its candidate, however, Norbu withdrew his nomination at the last moment. Lhamu was announced as the unopposed winner of the bypoll on February 10 and received the certificate of election from the returning officer, RD Thungon.
Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju in a tweet on February 10 congratulated Lhamu on her victory and wrote, “Congratulations to BJP Candidates Smt Tsering Lhamu of 1-Lumla Assembly Constituency (Bye-election) in Arunachal Pradesh and Shri @KazhetoKinimi of 31- Akuluto Assembly Constituency of Nagaland on getting elected unopposed. I wish both of them for a successful tenure.”
Congratulations to BJP Candidates Smt Tsering Lhamu of 1-Lumla Assembly Constituency (Bye election) in Arunachal Pradesh and Shri @KazhetoKinimi of 31- Akuluto Assembly Constituency of Nagaland on getting elected unopposed.
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) February 11, 2023
I wish both of them for a successful tenure @BJP4India pic.twitter.com/67UpTxWfAY
On February 16, Lhamu was sworn in as a member of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly. At a ceremony held in the assembly, Speaker P D Sona administered the oath to Lhamu. S Sona congratulated Lhamu on winning the Lumla assembly seat without facing any opposition and expressed her hope that the MLA will uphold the dignity of the assembly and represent the interests of the people of her constituency.
In a tweet posted on February 16, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu extended his best wishes to the newly-elected representative from Lumla and wrote, “Hon Speaker Shri @pasang_sona ji administered the oath to Smt Tsering Lhamu ji, MLA, Lumla Assembly seat at Nokmey Namati Hall, which I attended along with DCM Shri @ChownaMeinBJP ji, Parliamentary Affairs Min Shri Felix Bamang ji & other esteemed guests. Best wishes to her!”
Hon Speaker Shri @pasang_sona ji administered the oath to Smt Tsering Lhamu ji, MLA, Lumla Assembly seat at Nokmey Namati Hall, which I attended along with DCM Shri @ChownaMeinBJP ji, Parliamentary Affairs Min Shri Felix Bamang ji & other esteemed guests. Best wishes to her! pic.twitter.com/dHUbUSUvUW
— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) February 16, 2023
After Lhamu’s win, the ruling BJP now has 49 seats in the 60-member assembly. There are three Independent MLAs in addition to the four MLAs each of the opposition Congress and National Peoples’ Party (NPP).
