Khandu hails civic, rural polls mandate as endorsement of Modi's vision

Itanagar, Dec 21 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Sunday said the BJP-led NDA's strong performance in the panchayat and municipal elections in the state reflects the people's firm endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Viksit Bharat and Viksit Arunachal.

Addressing the media after a victory celebration at the BJP state headquarters here, Khandu said the mandate demonstrated widespread public trust in the party's governance and development agenda.

He clarified that although the BJP lost a few seats, they went to NDA partners, and local bodies would be formed smoothly in coordination with them.

Sharing details of the results, the chief minister said the BJP had secured victories in over 6,000 of the total 8,208 gram panchayat member (GPM) seats, with final results still awaited.

In the zilla parishad member (ZPM) category, the party won 170 out of 245 seats, including 44 seats where candidates were elected unopposed, underlining the BJP's strong grassroots presence, the chief minister said.

In the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) elections, the BJP won 14 of the 20 seats, while NDA partners NCP and LJP won five seats between them, and one seat went to an independent candidate, Khandu said.

He congratulated all newly elected ZPMs, corporators, councillors and GPMs.

The chief minister also highlighted the state's leadership in implementing the SPICE model—Sustainable, Participatory, Inclusive, Comprehensive and Empowerment.

He said funds devolved to panchayats under this model stood at Rs 123 crore in 2022–23, Rs 1,431 crore in 2023–24, Rs 16,398 crore in 2024–25 and Rs 22,374 crore in 2025–26.

He added that after January 10, next year, structured training programmes for newly elected gram panchayat and zilla parishad chairpersons would be conducted through a memorandum of understanding with the Institute of Rural Management, Gujarat, focusing on leadership, planning, governance and convergence towards Viksit Bharat.

Earlier, the state unit of the BJP organised a grand victory celebration at its party head office here to thank the people for the resounding mandate in the local body elections.

The programme was attended by BJP state president Kaling Moyong, Itanagar MLA Techi Kaso, state general secretary Tadar Niglar, along with party office bearers and newly elected corporators.

Addressing party workers, Moyong expressed gratitude to the electorate for reaffirming its trust in the BJP's leadership and development-oriented governance.

He said that under the third consecutive BJP government led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, the people had shown pro-incumbency rather than anti-incumbency, reflecting continued faith in the party's pro-people policies and transparent administration.

Reiterating its commitment to accountable, inclusive and development-driven governance, the state BJP once again thanked the electorate for the clear mandate in favour of the NDA and pledged continued service at all levels. PTI UPL UPL RG