The first elections to the

Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Arunachal Pradesh state in north-eastern India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Itanagar, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly comprise ...

were held in on 25 February 1978.Kumar, Sudhir.
Political and Administrative Setup of Union Territories in India
'. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications, 1991. pp. 115-116Election Commission of India.
STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1978 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH
'' There were 30 single-member constituencies at the time of the election, out of whom two were reserved for

Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

s. There was a total of 86 candidates participating. The maximum number of candidates was found in the Ziro constituency, with six candidates. In two constituencies (

Prem Khandu Thungan Prem Khandu Thungon (born 5 June 1946) is an Indian politician and leader of the Indian National Congress. He was a former central minister of state for Urban Development in the Government of India. He was the Chief Minister of Janata Party led ...

from

Dirang Dirang is a village in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. West Kameng is the name of the district that contains village Dirang. Dirang is one of the 60 constituencies of Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh. Name of current MLA (August ...

Kalaktang Kalaktang is a town in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh West Kameng is the name of the district that contains town Kalaktang. Kalaktang is one of the 60 constituencies of Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh. Name of current MLA (May ...

and Noksong Boham from Niasua- Kanubari) there was only one candidate, who was elected unopposed. There were 29

Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...

candidates, 21

People's Party of Arunachal Peoples Party of Arunachal, a regional political party in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It was founded in September 1977 by Bakin Pertin, Oken Lego and L. Wanglat as president, Vice President and General Secretary of the party. Tomo ...

candidates, 1

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

candidate (Shri Tasso Grayu) and 35 independents in the fray. The speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Nonemati, contested as a Janata Party candidate from Khonsa North constituency.Shiv Lal.
Elections Under the Janata Rule
'. New Delhi: Election Archives, 1978. p. 23 A total of 105 nominations had been presented, out of which 3 had been rejected by the Election Commission (a PPA candidate from Yingdiono-Pangin constituency, an independent from Ziro and an independent from Along North). A peculiar situation for the tribal societies of the Union Territory was the fact that in many constituencies members of the same families (even brothers) or clans fought against each other for different parties. There were only two female candidates ( Nyari Welly and Omem Deori) standing in the election. Neither was elected. Janata Party won 17 seats, compared to 8 seats for the PPA. 5 seats were won by independents. Following the election a five-member cabinet was sworn in on 14 March 1978, headed by Janata Party leader Prem Khandu Thungan as Chief Minister. Other ministers were

Gegong Apang Gegong Apang is an Indian politician from Arunachal Pradesh. He served as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh from 18 January 1980 to 19 January 1999 and again from August 2003 to April 2007. Apang is Arunachal Pradesh's longest serving Chief M ...

Tadar Tang A millimeter wave scanner is a whole-body imaging device used for detecting objects concealed underneath a person’s clothing using a form of electromagnetic radiation. Typical uses for this technology include detection of items for commercial ...

, Soben Tayang and Nokme. The newly elected assembly held its first session in

Itanagar Itanagar () is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The seat of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the seat of government of Arunachal Pradesh, and the seat of Gauhati High Court permanent bench at Naharla ...

on 21 March 1978. Three members were nominated by the Governor to sit in the Assembly, amongst them was one woman ( Sibo Kai).Johsi, H. G.
Arunachal Pradesh: Past and Present
'. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications, 2005. p. 123Karna, M. N.
Social Movements in North-East India
'. New Delhi: Indus Pub. Co, 1998. p. 64

Results

Elected Members

References

{{Arunachal Pradesh elections State Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh 1970s in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...