But governance will be immediate challenge
After weeks of uncertainty, Arunachal Pradesh will soon have a new Government. This is good for the State and a setback for the Congress which had done everything it could, including exploring legal remedies, to prevent the formation of a Government comprising its dissidents. Arunachal Pradesh will thus become another addition to the list of States from where the Congress has been ousted. This is grim news for the party, more so given that it faces an uphill task to retain another north-eastern State, Assam, in the coming Assembly election. The Congress can take heart from the decision of the Supreme Court to continue hearing two petitions, one filed by the Speaker and Congress leader challenging the Governor's earlier decision to advance the date of the Assembly session, and the other by former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki challenging the imposition of President's Rule. The outcome of these petitions can at best now provide fresh guidelines on the powers of the Governor in matters relating to unilaterally deciding on session dates and on the circumstances that lead to the imposition of Central rule — although the latter has been a legally settled matter following the SR Bommai case. The verdict is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the political situation in the State, once a non-Congress regime comes into being. Of course, things can change on the ground if the disqualification of the rebel Congress MlAs is upheld at some point in time during the tenure of the current Assembly, but again that is also a long-drawn process which does not promise an early final word. In any case, since the apex court gave the go ahead for the formation of a new Government after it had perused the documents on the disqualification proceedings against the 14 rebel Congress legislators, it does appear that the disqualification issue too rests for the moment. Whether it likes it or not, the Congress has to contend with the changed circumstances. It had hoped to stall the formation of a non-Congress regime till it had sorted out the rebellion. The apex court had other ideas when it vacated its stay on Government formation. It also dismissed the Congress's argument that, with the revocation of President's Rule, the earlier Government led by Mr Tuki stood re-instated.
While it is not known as of now whether the rebel MlAs will eventually come into the Bharatiya Janata Party's fold or remain a separate bloc, it is clear that they have the backing of the BJP legislators. The BJP could be part of a coalition Government, if not immediately perhaps later. While the party has every reason to celebrate the ouster of a Congress regime, the real challenge lies ahead for both the party and the Government. Considering the circumstances in which the new dispensation will take charge in Itanagar, the challenge of governance alone, not to speak of effective governance, is all too obvious. The Congress is, after all, not going to remain silent, and it will keep trying to win over the rebels back into its fold, destabilise the regime and pay its political rivals in their own coin. The incoming Government will have to remain alert to this threat. Its success will largely depend on the level of trust that it can build between it and its supporters within and outside.