Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday highlighted the progress of development initiatives under the BJP government, stating that the benefits of governance have reached even the remotest villages of Arunachal Pradesh. He made the remarks during a panchayat election campaign at Jangda village in Tawang district.

On social media platform X, Khandu said, “During today’s campaign at Jangda village, I witnessed the strong faith and hopes of the community. Their optimism for a better future fuels my commitment to work tirelessly for every family and village.”

The state is scheduled to hold the 12th general elections for panchayati raj institutions alongside the third municipal elections for Itanagar and Pasighat on December 15, with counting on December 20.

So far, 63 candidates including 58 from BJP and one from the National People’s Party (NPP) for zilla parishad seats have been elected unopposed, along with four uncontested BJP candidates for the Itanagar Municipal Corporation. In addition, 5,037 BJP-supported Gram Panchayat Members have won unopposed.

Currently, 440 candidates are in the fray for 186 zilla parishad seats, while 39 candidates contest 16 IMC wards and 21 candidates vie for eight Pasighat Municipal Council wards. Over 8.3 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes at 2,171 panchayat polling stations, 67 IMC, and 12 PMC polling stations. Polling in the Dumba Singpho Gram Panchayat constituency was postponed following the death of a nominated candidate.