Arunachal MLA killed in ambush by NSCN(IM) rebels retains seat

GUWAHATI: Arunachal Pradesh MLA Tirong Aboh, who was gunned down along with son and nine others in an ambush by suspected NSCN (IM) terrorists on Tuesday, polled more than 55% votes to retain the Khonsa West assembly seat.
The 45-year-old National People’s Party leader defeated Phawang Lowang of BJP by 1,055 votes — an overwhelming margin by the constituency’s standard where the size of the electorate is a little over 10,000.The Election Commission would soon declare the seat as vacant to pave the way for bypoll within six months.
Assembly elections in the frontier state were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.
Nani Kojin, editor of Arunachal Front, an English daily from the state, said, “The result shows his popularity in his constituency which he won twice.” Aboh had won the seat as a People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) candidate in 2014. Later, he left PPA to join NPP.
Hailing from Dadam village in Khonsa town of Tirap district, Aboh completed his high school from Government Higher Secondery School, Khonsa. He was the chief organiser of Congress Seva Dal in Tirap district from 2002 to 2006.
On Tuesday, at least 14 suspected National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) terrorists shot dead Aboh, his son and nine others after waylaying his convoy of four vehicles in the frontier state’s Tirap district.
State NPP leader and former home minister Kumar Waii had termed Aboh’s killing as a political assassination by his rivals. “Everyone knew he was going to win. He, too, had told me that he was confident of retaining his seat,” said Waii.
Aboh, who was known as a no-nonsense politician, often received threats from the NSCN(I-M) for his opposition to their presence in Arunachal. This was the second time that suspected NSCN(I-M) rebels have resorted to killings in Arunachal since the announcement of the assembly and Lok Sabha election dates. On March 29, they killed Jaley Anna, one of Aboh’s supporters from NPP, in Kheti village of Tirap district.
The Tirap Changlang Longding Society Delhi, under the banner of the Arunachal Students’ Union Delhi, on Thursday organized a prayer meet and candlelight vigil at Arunachal House in the national capital to express solidarity with the families of those who lost their lives in the ambush.