Newly elected Congress MLA from
Kanubari constituency, Gabriel Denwang Wangsu was today sworn in as member of Arunachal Pradesh assembly.
Speaker Nabum Rebia administered the oath to Wangsu in presence of Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, his ministers and party MLAs.
Wangsu had won the seat in the by-poll held on October 15 defeating his rival Rongnai Maham of the BJP by a margin of 885 votes in a straight fight.
A journalist turned politician, Wangsu had contested unsuccessfully from the constituency in 2009 and 2014 assembly elections as a candidate of People's Party of Arunachal and as an independent respectively.
The bye-election to the seat was necessitated due to the death of sitting MLA Newlai Tingkhatra on May seven ahead of counting of votes for the April 7 assembly and parliamentary elections in the state. Tingkhatra had won the seat posthumously on a Congress ticket.
With Wangsu's win, Congress now has 42 MLAs in a 60-member assembly, while Opposition BJP has 11 legislators followed by Peoples' Party of Arunachal (PPA) with five members along with two Independents.
Immediately after his swearing-in, Wangsu told reporters that his priority would be to prepare a road map for development of his constituency and to work for a permanent settlement of the boundary dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
