Despite facing flak for being outspoken, two-time Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao who won from Arunachal East parliamentary constituency by defeating his nearest rival Bosiram Siram by a margin of 30,421 votes, continues to be a popular leader.
Born on October 1, 1964, in Molom in Arunachal Pradesh’s present Siang district, Gao completed his Master’s Degree in political science.
Before embarking into politics, he was involved in community development activities, which in turn provided him with a strong foundation in his political career.
Gao has been a force to reckon with in state politics by winning the 2004 Lok Sabha election against his principal rival, Congress’ Wangcha Rajkumar.
The 60-year-old lost the seat in 2009 and 2014 elections but remained loyal to the BJP and its ideology.
In the 2019 polls, he made a strong comeback and was elected to the Lok Sabha for the second time by defeating Congress’ Lowangcha Wanglat.
Gao’s outspokenness can be gauged from the fact that he has not spared his party in the Parliament.
In September 2020, Gao raised the twin issues of alleged Chinese ‘incursion and occupation drives’ in the frontier state.
He highlighted the incursions by Chinese troops in Chaglagam in the Anjaw district and other places in the Dibang Valley and Upper Subansiri district.
