The confirmation of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu’s death in a helicopter crash has triggered a hunt for his successor.
The All India Congress Committee had rushed two representatives to Itanagar a day after Khandu’s chopper disappeared. And while the party is yet to name the new CM, insiders said five names have been doing the rounds — home minister Tako Dabi, finance minister Setong Sena, PCC chief and PWD minister Nabam Tuki, power minister Jarbom Gamlin and Rajya Sabha MP and former chief minister Mukut Mithi.
“It may be a toss between Gamlin and Mithi, who have been loyal to the Congress even during phases when all the others switched over to other parties,” said a senior PCC leader.
He said Khandu’s successor may to be named on Friday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi reach Itanagar.
Khandu, who hailed from Gyangkhar village in Tawang, was one of very few school dropouts to have become a CM. He served the army and received a gold medal for his services during the Bangladesh War. He left the army in 1980s to take up politics, and in 1990 won his first assembly election. In 2007 he replaced Gegong Apang to become CM.